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UFS sympathises with the passing of Dr Dolf van Niekerk

03 January 2023 | Story Lacea Loader | Photo Evert Kleynhans

The University of the Free State (UFS) would like to express its condolences to the family and friends of South African author, Dr Dolf van Niekerk, on his passing.

Dr Van Niekerk, the recipient of an honorary doctorate from the UFS, passed away on 31 December 2022. The UFS awarded a Doctor of Letters to Dr Dolf van Niekerk during its April 2021 graduation ceremony.

Dr Van Niekerk was a celebrated author who also achieved fame as a dramatist and radio presenter. An alumnus of the UFS, he received a BA degree from the university cum laude in 1949. He also played a role in academia and was an emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria until his retirement in 1994. His work includes 27 books in philosophy, poetry, fiction, drama, and memoirs, for which he has received numerous awards. These include the Eugene Marais Prize, the MER Prize, and the Scheepers Award for Youth Literature.

“Dr van Niekerk is a Kovsie alumnus with a deep connection to the Free State. He played a significant role in the country’s literary history, and it was an honour for the university to award him with an honorary degree. A wordsmith of note, Dr van Niekerk’s contributions to South African literature, radio, and stage will live on," says Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor.

News Archive

Better education automatically leads to employment, right?

2014-07-24

The book ‘Education, Economy and Society’, by Salim Vally and Enver Motala, is about to be launched on the Bloemfontein Campus. The Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice will be hosting the event.

"In South Africa and elsewhere there exists an unquestioning acceptance of simplistic claims related to the link between education and economic growth and that more and better education and training will automatically lead to employment," states a quote from the cover of the book.

The contributors to this book systematically challenge these assumptions and set out the basis for an alternative vision. This vision embraces a much broader valuing of knowledge and skills that lead to an inclusive and transformed society. They also put forward different approaches to understanding the connections between education, unemployment, inequality and poverty.

‘Education, Economy and Society’ rigorously critiques conventional wisdom and offers a revised version of the relationship between education and society.

The public is welcome to attend the book launch.

Date: Friday 25 July 2014
Time: 14:00 – 15:30
Venue: DF Malherbe House, the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice, Bloemfontein Campus
RSVP: vannestel@ufs.ac.za

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