Latest News Archive

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

Breaking barriers: Honouring diversity in academic achievements at UFS

17 May 2024 | Story Edzani Nephalela | Photo Charl Devenish

During the Faculty of Education ceremony, Louzanne Coetzee, a blind UFS alumna and speaker, shared her remarkable journey. From her days as a high school learner to becoming a student, she highlighted her challenges and how she overcame them.

The April graduations at the University of the Free State (UFS) were a remarkable celebration of diversity and inclusivity, with 44 graduates with learning difficulties, visual, mobility, or hearing impairments honoured for their achievements.

Despite facing unique challenges throughout their academic journeys, these resilient students triumphed over adversity to earn their degrees, inspiring their peers and educators alike – all with the assistance of the Centre for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS) within the Division of Student Affairs.

Words of advice from the recent graduates

Nkosingiphile Nyanale, who is blind, recently graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. He emphasised the importance of mutual understanding between students and educators as a way of helping students with disabilities to overcome the extra hurdles they face. “One of the most challenging parts of my journey was reaching a common understanding with some facilitators on how I could be reasonably accommodated in class,” Nyanale said. “Some lecturers would deny themselves the opportunity to understand the challenges of students with visual impairments and viewed my requests as a way of seeking an easy pass. So, peers and lecturers understanding various impairments helped shape my journey.

”Sthembiso Dlamini, a BSc Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics graduate who lives with dysgraphia, a condition that creates challenges related to handwriting, spelling, and organising thoughts on paper, said, “In my third year, I struggled to focus during high-stress exams. I willingly sacrificed much of my leisure time to tackle this obstacle head-on. I committed myself to honing my learning methods and enhancing my time-management abilities.”

Relebohile Moloi, a nursing graduate, thanked CUADS for its help, and said greater awareness of the centre and its services could help more students. “They should assess students regularly for impairments, because sometimes people don’t know they have an impairment. CUADS should visit each faculty to give information on who they are and what they offer.”

The speaker

Louzanne Coetzee, a blind UFS alumna, shared her story during the last graduation session of the season on 20 April. “After matriculating at the Pioneer School in Worcester [Western Cape], where it was a protected environment, I did not know what to expect from the UFS. However, the UFS gave me a conducive environment by allowing my guide dog, Isabel, into the residences. I was the first person to be allowed such.” [Listen to her full speech here.]

Inclusive environment

Martie Miranda, Deputy Director at CUADS, said she’s proud of the graduates, as they embody the UFS’s dedication to an inclusive environment that caters to all its students, in line with the university’s Vision 130, which aims to foster academic excellence in a diverse and equitable environment. “In celebrating our graduates, we honour not just their achievements but the enduring commitment of CUADS staff and the university to foster an inclusive environment where every student's journey is valued and supported."

News Archive

Old Mutual Investment Group invests in our students

2013-07-22

Old Mutual Investment Group’s Imfundo Trust scholars with Mr Muhammad Brey (far left) and Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS (far right).
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
22 July 2013

“I am one step closer to entering the corporate world as a young woman. My dream is to work for a large firm and now it is possible,” said Melody Motaung, a B Accounting first-year student. She is one of the first recipients of the Old Mutual Investment Group’s Imfundo Trust scholarship, which was launched at the university recently.

Melody is one of seven Kovsies and 91 students countrywide to benefit from the R20 million trust, aimed at empowering black professional people in the financial sector. Kovsies is now one of eight universities whose students benefit from the trust. It already empowers students from the University of Johannesburg, UNISA, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, University of the Western Cape, University of Fort Hare, Stellenbosch University and Rhodes University.

”The UFS embodies the excellence and innovation we are looking for in tertiary institutions,“ Mr Muhammad Brey, trustee of the trust, said during the launch. He conveyed that the main aim of the trust is to address the shortage of black professional investors in South Africa and to expand the source of suitably qualified individuals in the asset management industry.

The seven recipients, all of them female first-year students, were encouraged by the speakers to do their part in addressing South Africa’s skills shortage in the financial sector.

Prof Hendri Kroukamp, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, said with the assistance of the Old Mutual Investment Group, the students – four of them B Accounting students – will help to address the shortage of chartered accountants in the country. “As qualified financial experts, they can make a big contribution.”

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