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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.
RIEP presents mathematics training programme for education students
2007-10-30
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The Research Institute for Education Planning (RIEP) at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently trained 19 Foundation Phase students from the UFS School of Education in the Family Math programme. Family Math is a programme in which teachers, children (preschool up to Grade 9) and their parents are exposed to the basic principles of mathematics. The aim of the training is to develop literacy levels in mathematics by using fun activities, concrete resources and generally available and less expensive material found in and around the house. Over and above the contact sessions, each student had to arrange two community workshops in order to qualify as a Family Math facilitator. The students' training was made possible by a sponsorship from Old Mutual. During the certificate ceremony were, from the left: Franzel Steyn (student), Mr Johann Faber (representative from Old Mutual), me. Elizna Prinsloo (RIEP), Prof. Jack van der Linde (Director of RIEP), Lorraine Botha (RIEP), and Olga de Ascensao (student).
Photo: Supplied
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