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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.
Protecting women and children - top on the agenda for women in law
2015-02-24
Judge Soma Naidoo
Photo: Hanno Otto |
The Faculty of Law in collaboration with the International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) hosted a gala dinner with the theme: ‘Protect a woman, protect a child’ on 14 February 2015 at the UFS Centenary Complex.
In attendance were leading South African women judges and members of the IAWJ’s Justices: Halima Sulduker of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Connie Mocumi of the Free State High Court, and Soma Naidoo of the Free State High Court . The UFS was represented by the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof Caroline Nicholson and other senior faculty members. The keynote address was presented by Prof Beatri Kruger.
The title of the keynote speech, ’Killing human trafficking in South Africa: chaos, challenges and celebrations’, was inspired by the extensive research which Prof Kruger has been doing over recent years on human trafficking. “Human trafficking is not just another crime; it is complex, multi-layered and extends over international borders and continents. It is often disguised and has many faces –from trafficking for labour to sexual exploitation; mutilation of body parts, forced marriages, drug couriering; the list is endless. New forms of human trafficking are revealed continuously,” she said.
‘Protect a woman, protect a child’ (read the full story)