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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.
UFS and Sasol sign overarching agreement
2009-06-17
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Pictured are, from the left: Prof. Roodt, Prof. M.J. Crous (Acting Vice-Rector: Academic Operations), Prof. Verschoor, Dr Godorr and Mr Nel.
Photo: Mangaliso Radebe |
Sasol senior management Dr Sven Godorr, Manager of Research & Development, Sasol Technology, and Mr Johann Nel, Manager of Technology Contracting at Sasol, visited the UFS on 8 June 2009 to sign the overarching agreement between SASOL and the UFS regarding contract work and students being trained with SASOL support. Currently, these SASOL supported projects at the UFS are primarily supervised by Prof. Ben Bezuidenhoudt, SASOL seconded professor in Organic Chemistry, Prof. Jannie Swarts, Head of Physical Chemistry Division and Prof. André Roodt, Head of Inorganic Division and Chairperson of the Chemistry Department. The signatories from the UFS were Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Acting Rector and Vice-Chancellor and Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. This agreement forms part of the SASOL-supported and UFS senior management's revitalisation of Chemistry to more than R100 million over the past four and half years.