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27 October 2025
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Story Sefako Mokhosoa
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Photo Supplied
Ten Grade 12 learners from Mampoi Secondary School in Phuthaditjhaba.
On 1 October 2025, the Projects and Innovation Directorate in the Faculty of Education at the University of the Free State (UFS) proudly hosted a certificate ceremony to honour ten Grade 12 learners from Mampoi Secondary School in Phuthaditjhaba on the Qwaqwa Campus. These learners completed a Skills Development Initiative and Workshop Series focused on digital literacy and ICT skills – a programme designed to equip rural youth with the tools they need to thrive in a digital world.
The initiative, which ran from May to August 2025, was made possible through a strategic partnership with BANKSETA to bridge the digital divide in rural communities. The learners received hands-on training in essential digital tools. Each learner also received a tablet to support continued learning and personal growth beyond the classroom.
The Director of the office in the Faculty of Education, Dr Kwazi Magwenzi, stressed that digital skills promote independence and self-directed learning. “Grade 12 is a time when learners should manage their studies, meet deadlines, and explore their options,” she said. “Digital fluency supports that autonomy. It enables learners to use online research, interactive tools, e-learning, and collaboration platforms to make learning more effective, flexible, and aligned with their pace and style. In Grade 12, where the stakes are high – with exams, tertiary entrance, and career choices – this ability helps learners become more self-directed, confident, and equipped.”
The programme not only built learners’ confidence in using ICT tools for learning and communication but also prepared them for the technologically driven environments they will encounter in institutions of higher learning.
Beyond developing digital skills, the project offered learners valuable exposure to the university environment, as their training took place on campus. Inspired by the success of this pilot, the Faculty of Education now aims to expand the initiative to reach more schools and learners across the region. The vision is to scale up access to digital education and empower more young people in rural areas with the skills necessary for academic and professional success.
This ceremony marked the conclusion of a successful training programme and the beginning of a long-term commitment to digital empowerment and lifelong learning in rural communities.
US embassy consolidates relations with the UFS
2009-05-25
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Delegates from the American Embassy recently visited the University of the Free State (UFS) to strengthen relations and to offer assistance with regards to staff and student development on diversity issues. This was a continuation of the Fulbright scholarship agreement that the UFS has with the American Embassy. As part of this agreement two student leaders, Andries Moekoa (SRC Transformation) and Jamie Turkington (IRAWA editor), will go to the USA next month for six weeks. They will be placed, together with students from other countries, at universities with the same challenges as the UFS. During the visit of the delegates from the American Embassy they had meetings with the Student Representative Councils of the Qwaqwa Campus and the Main Campus, Student Affairs Management, as well as members of the Executive Committee of the Executive Management. Pictured from the left are: Prof Ezekiel Moraka (Vice-Rector: Student Affairs), Mr Andrew Passen (Consulate General: US Embassy), Prof Teuns Verschoor (Acting Rector and Vice-Chancellor), Dr Choice Makhetha (Acting Dean: Student Affairs) and Mr Steven Stark (Public Affairs Officer: US Embassy).
Photo: Stephen Collett |