Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

Academic programme to continue online with immediate effect

02 August 2023

Sporadic disruptions of academic activities occurred yesterday and this morning on the Bloemfontein, South and Qwaqwa Campuses.

In recent weeks, the university management has made various attempts to keep the campuses open for face-to-face learning and teaching amid challenges experienced with the disbursement of students’ National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances through eZaga, an online digital banking service, tasked with dispersing direct payments to NSFAS beneficiaries.

These attempts include, but are not limited to, the attendance of meetings by UFS representatives with NSFAS, arranged by Universities South Africa (USAf); meetings with NSFAS attended by Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal; constant engagements with NSFAS by the university’s Financial Aid Office; a meeting with the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, to discuss the matter – this was postponed to a later date; constant engagements with the Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC) on matters relating to NSFAS, etc. These attempts are, however, not acceptable to our students.

To minimise the risk to the academic programme, as well as the fact that this is a sector-wide challenge, the academic programme, (activities, classes, and assignments) will continue online as far as possible from 2 to 4 August 2023. Further information about students’ online academic programme will be communicated by the respective faculties.

The university management would like to thank our academic staff for their commitment during this time, and for ensuring that the academic programme continues through online delivery.

The university is not closed; all other activities will continue as normal. All campuses are also accessible. The situation on the campuses is being monitored closely and the necessary security measures are in place to ensure the safety of students and staff.

The university’s protocol during protests provides guidance to students and staff on how to act during protests.

Students and staff will be updated on the situation.

News Archive

Prof Habib addresses inequality at public lecture

2014-08-06

One of South Africa’s leading political commentators, Prof Adam Habib, gave a public lecture and launched his latest book on the Bloemfontein Campus on Wednesday 30 July 2014. The event was hosted by the Department of Philosophy in association with Wits University Press and The Southern African Trust.

Prof Habib started his lecture by summarising his book, ‘South Africa’s Suspended Revolution: Hopes and Prospects’. “It is basically about: how did we get where we are today, and how do we get out of the mess we are in?” he said.

His book focuses on South Africa’s transition into democracy and the country’s prospects for inclusive development – which formed the basis of his talk. Prof Habib stressed the issue of inequality facing South Africa and discussed the different approaches to addressing the matter.

“The one approach is that it is simply something we have to live with,” he said. “People who believe this live in a bubble. For example, service delivery protests do not happen because of poverty – it happens because of inequality.”

Prof Habib cautioned against not taking the matter seriously. “Inequality went up consistently in South Africa over the last 20 years. This is however not solely a national challenge, but a global challenge. And South Africa is the frontline of the war on inequality.”

He proposed that the expectations of the rich, rather than the poor, should be addressed.
“We need to moderate expectations. But we can’t moderate the expectations of the poor, if not the rich. We can’t ask the poor to sacrifice what the rich won’t.

“South Africa is once again at a moment of reckoning, where we are forced to make hard choices – in order to make the right choices.”

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept