Martie Miranda, Deputy Director of CUADS, and Charity Morrison, CUADS Disability Support Manager, were nominated after a TMF Transformation Strategy Group meeting held in March 2023, at which an assessment of the implementation of the Department of Higher Education and Training’s Strategic Policy Framework on Disability for the Post-school Education and Training System in the public higher education sector was adopted as a group priority. The task team will be run in collaboration with the
Higher and Further Education Disability Services Association (HEDSA).
Their nomination to lead the task team is an expression of “the UFS’s commitment to instilling values of care and social justice where staff and students have a sense of belonging”, said Miranda.
Miranda, who currently serves as HEDSA Chairperson, says, “The focus for the task team is to unpack the Strategic Policy Framework’s expectations, and identify the themes and deliverables expected of the higher education institutions (HEIs).”
Supported by Morrison, she will lead a team of volunteers from the TMF and co-opted stakeholders in HEIs in developing a survey questionnaire to examine the status of implementation of the Strategic Policy Framework. The team will submit a report and recommendations to the TMF in November 2023.
“I am looking forward to tapping into everyone’s expertise, and for the University of the Free State to participate in the survey, which will assist in reflecting on where the institution is on inclusivity and disability transformation,” Miranda says.
Leading transformation and an inclusive agenda
Depending on the findings and recommendations, the task team might be required to monitor and evaluate progress going forward.
“Serving on the task team gives us the opportunity to see what is happening on the ground, and to make recommendations that will enhance the inclusion of people with disabilities,” Morrison says. “The recommendations will assist with changing the culture of institutions and create a better student experience and well-being in the pursuit of truths and practices that grant human dignity to everybody, per the university’s Vision 130.”
Miranda added that participating in the task team will create larger benefits for the UFS. “This will also help in co-creating an inclusive environment where CUADS would seamlessly and holistically be integrated into every part of the UFS. It is an opportunity to gain exposure to experiences and practices of other HEIs and identify possible solutions for the UFS to achieve its strategic goal in advancing a transformational institutional culture demonstrating its values.”