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05 August 2023 | Story Lacea Loader

All academic activities on the campuses of the University of the Free State (UFS) will resume face-to-face on Monday 7 August 2023.

This decision by the university’s executive management comes after campus-wide protests on 2 August 2023, and the subsequent decision to continue the academic programme online until 4 August 2023.

The university can confirm that a large number of UFS-registered students funded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) who have been excluded from payment, have received their allowances on Friday 4 August 2023. The university is aware that a small number of students have not yet onboarded successfully with eZaga – an online digital banking service tasked with disbursing direct payments to NSFAS beneficiaries. These students have been requested to urgently onboard successfully with eZaga in order to receive their allowances.

On a sectoral level, the university would also like to confirm that a statement has been issued by Universities South Africa (USAf) in which NSFAS and the Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation are, among others, requested to urgently resolve the matter of the direct payment of allowances to students. The UFS fully supports the statement and is hopeful that an amicable and urgent solution to the matter can be found.

Protection Services and the South African Police Service remain on high alert and are monitoring the situation on the campuses closely. The necessary security measures are in place to ensure the safety of students and staff.

Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, will address our staff and students on 8 August 2023 about last week’s protest action. Please monitor the communication platforms for more information on this important engagement session.

message from Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, to staff and students about last week’s protest was also shared on 3 August 2023.

News Archive

UFS leads the way with GMO testing
2003-08-25

A formal agreement linking Africa’s first testing facility for genetically modified organisms (GMO) to an international organization was signed at the University of the Free State.

According to the manager of the GMO testing facility, Dr Chris Viljoen of the Department of Plant Sciences, the facility is now part of GeneScan, a world leader in food diagnostic testing, which has its headquarters in Germany with subsidiaries in the Unites States, Brazil and Hong Kong.

The facility at the UFS has been selected by the second largest international food company to do all its South African GMO testing for export products.

The GMO testing facility is the brainchild of Dr Viljoen, who is a specialist in the field of marker biotechnology and its applications in crop science.

He says the need for such a testing facility arose due to the international regulations on GMOs in food, especially Europe and Asia that requires South African exporters to certify whether their products contain any GMO.

“The regulations in Europe and Asia reflect a consumer need for choice in what they eat due to concerns over the safety of GMOs, as well as environmental and ethical issues. GMO testing and labelling allow consumers the right of choice to eat genetically modified foods or not. According to EU regulations, any product with a GMO content of 1% or higher is labelled as containing GMO.”

According to Dr Viljoen only four products in South Africa are currently GMO. They are white and yellow maize that have been made insect resistant, soya bean that is herbicide tolerant and insect resistant cotton. He says that the awareness of GMOs among South Africans is still very limited, especially in poorer communities, but it is likely to increase with the efforts being made in consumer education by government, seed companies and NGOs.

The testing facility has been established to accommodate the local as well as international market. The GMO testing at the UFS facility is performed using real time PCR, the most advanced means of GMO detection currently available, and using GeneScan developed technology that is recognized worldwide.
 

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