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28 February 2023 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Edzani Nephalela
Dr Luyanda Marhaya
Dr Luyanda Marhaya, Director of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance at the UFS.
Dr Luyanda Marhaya, Director of Academic Planning and Quality Assurance at the University of the Free State (UFS), has been selected by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to join the Foundation Provision Reference Group (FPRG). His primary role in this position is to assist the Department in assessing applications for foundation programmes submitted by universities, ensuring compliance with the current Foundation Provision Guidelines. 

As the author of the book Does Extended Programme Provision Work in South Africa?, Dr Marhaya is a recognised expert in the field. 

The Department of Communication and Marketing (DCM) at the UFS recently interviewed Dr Marhaya to understand his responsibilities better:

Can you tell us more about your appointment as a member of the FPRG?

Over and above the supportive role, one of the major issues I will be involved in will be to provide input into the revision and finalisation of the Extended Curriculum Programme Policy Framework for the higher sector in South Africa.

What kind of projects or initiatives do you see being a priority?

One of the significant ongoing projects will be evaluating applications for foundation programmes of the different universities in South Africa, so one will have to allocate time, as many universities currently offer these programmes.

What do you hope to bring to the table as a group member?

Interestingly, I started as an academic about 15 years ago in the foundation programmes. I spent a good five years of my teaching at a university level dealing with students who gained entry through foundation programmes. I completely understand their purpose, intentions, and significance, especially concerning student access and success. 

How will the Foundation Provision Reference Group benefit students and the education system?

Student access is a serious issue in South Africa, especially regarding the preparedness of many university students. So, I believe if we develop guidelines that can assist universities in coordinating these programmes in a well-structured manner, there could be many benefits.

What challenges do you anticipate facing in this role, and how do you plan to address them?

I think the major issue will be time constraints. My role is very demanding, and I am already involved in several other external committees, such as the Council on Higher Education, so I think my time management has to be very good.

How do you plan to work with other group members to achieve the group’s goals?

I believe in lifelong learning. I will certainly contribute, but the value of these interactions comes from learning from others.

Can you discuss any past experiences that have prepared you for this role?

I also wrote a book, titled Does Extended Programme Provision Work in South Africa?, in which I explored all the intricacies around these programmes. As Director: Academic Planning at the UFS, I also oversee the quality and provision of foundation programmes, so you could say I bring some expertise.

What are your long-term goals for the foundation programmes, and your role as a reference group member?

I foresee this as a long-term service that will benefit the country as a whole, so I suppose the Department will keep up so that we can provide capacity development to all universities that offer foundation programmes.

News Archive

IRSJ marks five years of championing social justice
2016-08-12

Description: IRSJ 5 year Tags: IRSJ 5 year

Members of the Advisory Board of the IRSJ,
Prof Michalinos Zembylas (Open University
of Cyprus), Prof Shirley Anne Tate (Leeds
University, England), and Prof Relebohile
Moletsane (University of KwaZulu-Natal),
listen to a speaker on the programme.
 Photo: Lihlumelo Toyana

The Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ) marked its fifth anniversary with a function on 27 July 2016 in the Reitz Hall of the Centenary Complex on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). Earlier that day, the Advisory Board of the IRSJ, chaired by Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, hosted their annual meeting.

A new book was also launched, co-authored by JC van der Merwe, Deputy-Director at the IRSJ and Dionne van Reenen, researcher and PhD candidate at the IRSJ. It is entitled Transformation and Legitimation in Post-apartheid Universities: Reading Discourses from ‘Reitz’. The function featured not only reflections on the IRSJ, but a four-member panel discussion of the book and higher education in 2016.

The IRSJ came into being officially at the UFS in January 2011. Prof André Keet, Director of the IRSJ, said: “With a flexibility and trust not easily found in the higher education sector, the university management gave us the latitude and support to fashion an outfit that responds to social life within and outside the borders of the university, locally and globally.”

The IRSJ has not hesitated to be bold and
courageous in reforming ... traditional policies."

 

Prof Jansen went on to mention three things he finds appealing about the IRSJ: “Thanks to Prof Keet and his team’s vision and understanding of how important it is for students to have a space in which they can learn how to be, learn how to think, and learn how to contribute, the IRSJ has become a place where students can learn about things that they might not learn in the classroom. Second, it created, for the first time, a space where members of the LGBTIQ community could gather in one place. And third, it speaks to the intellectual life of the university, as evidenced by the research and publications produced over the past few years.”

Prof Jansen added: “The IRSJ will only be successful to the extent that we have safe spaces, courageous spaces, in which not only black students talk to themselves, but where black and white students talk together about their difficulties. If you’re entangled, you can’t get out of [that] unless you speak to the other person.”

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Prof Michalinos Zembylas of the Open University of Cyprus and member of the Advisory Board, said of the IRSJ: “The works produced by the institute in this short time have been valuable to this community and beyond, because they recognise the complexities of education, ... while pushing the boundaries of how to translate theoretical discussions into practical, everyday conditions. ... For example, the IRSJ has not hesitated to be bold and courageous in reforming some traditional policies in this university—remnants of an ambivalent past that reproduced inequality and disadvantage.

In reflecting on how the IRSJ came into being during her opening remarks, Dr Lis Lange, Vice-Rector: Academic at the UFS, said that it has always been “dedicated to transformation.” She added that it “gathered the energy and creativity of some of our most promising student leaders.” She concluded: “For me, the greatest success of the Institute, besides publications and local and international networks, is the fact that something that started in the margins is being asked today to come closer to the centre, to play a larger role in the structural transformation of the university.”

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