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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.
Almost there…
2012-11-12
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First-year students Lindokuhle Sibisi, Zamokuhle Zule and Tabisa Tandathu are looking forward to start their vacation. The last date for exams is 17 November 2012 and students writing the additional opportunity exams will still be on our Campuses until 8 December.
Photo: Amanda Tongha
12 November 2012 |
The Year-end exams will come to an end this week, with more Kovsie students returning home to start their vacation. The final date for exams is 17 November 2012. Students who were unable to write at the first opportunity due to illness or other obligations, as well as those wanting to improve their marks, will have another opportunity with the supplementary opportunity exams starting on 26 November 2012. The final date for these exams is 8 December 2012.
Ian Hartley, a third-year student in Social Sciences, is one of the students who are still on the Bloemfontein Campus. Ian writes his final paper on Friday and says he is looking forward to the holidays. He will leave for Port Elizabeth in December to attend the South African Universities’ cricket tournament.
Ntheboheng Mopeli is also still on Campus. The third-year LLB student will write her two final papers this week.
Tabisa Tandathu, a first-year BSc student, wrote her final paper this week and will still be on Campus for another week before returning to her home town in the Eastern Cape. “I look forward to spending time with my family.”