Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
11 January 2019 | Story Lacea Loader

Status of the UFS 2019 registration process

The on-campus registration process at the University of the Free State (UFS) has not yet commenced. Although the online registration process started on 7 January 2019, the on-campus registration process on the university’s Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses will commence on 21 January 2019.

Some media reports that the registration process commenced this week and that registration points on the Bloemfontein Campus have been shut down by a number of students, are untrue. The only student academic services currently available on the campus are that of information services and enquiries from students visiting faculties, as well as assistance with online access to the Central Application Clearing House (CACH).

A group of students under the banner of the SASCO Bloemfontein Branch, and operating without engaging with the university’s existing student structures, disrupted student academic services on the Bloemfontein Campus and blocked entrance to the campus at one of the five gates on Wednesday 9 January 2019, indicating that the university management has not effectively dealt with some student-related matters pertaining to the 2019 registration process. The on-campus student academic services programme was subsequently temporarily suspended. However, online and email academic services continued as normal.

Following Wednesday’s disruption, the executive management of the UFS engaged with the group of students who disrupted the student academic services programme, as well as with representatives of the Institutional Student Representative Council (ISRC). Concessions between the university and the ISRC were reached yesterday.

The executive management expressed its appreciation for the ISRC’s cooperation and for its commitment towards student access to higher education. As the legitimate statutory body representing students, the ISRC will work with the management to ensure that preparations for the upcoming registration process run smoothly. The management furthermore condemned the behaviour of the group of students who disrupted the student academic services programme.

The registration process on the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses will commence on 21 January 2019 when senior students requiring assistance or academic advice, will be assisted on the campuses. The registration process and academic advising services for first-time entering, first-year students start according to a set schedule from 25 January 2019 on the Bloemfontein Campus, and from 28 January 2019 on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Enquiries regarding registration can be directed to the university’s Call Centre at 051 401 9666. Detailed information about the 2019 registration process is available at www.ufs.ac.za


Released by:
Lacea Loader (Director: Communication and Marketing)
Telephone: +27 51 401 2584 | +27 83 645 2454
Email: news@ufs.ac.za | loaderl@ufs.ac.za
Fax: +27 51 444 6393

News Archive

SA and Africa must avoid going over the edge
2017-02-26

Description: Prof Hussein Solomon, SA and Africa must avoid going over the edge Tags: Prof Hussein Solomon, SA and Africa must avoid going over the edge

From left are: Prof JM Moosa (Centre for African
Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India),
Prof Hussein Solomon (Senior Professor: Political
Studies and Governance at the UFS),
Prof Virgil Hawkins (Osaka School of International
Public Policy Studies, Osaka University in Japan), and
Prof Ajay Dubey (Centre for African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, India).
Photo: Jóhann Thormählen

South Africa and the rest of Africa might be standing on the edge of a cliff and therefore conversations are necessary to avoid tipping over. According to Prof Hussein Solomon that was why a conference to address these issues was recently co-hosted by the University of the Free State (UFS).

Prof Solomon, Senior Professor of Political Studies and Governance at the UFS, said the continent and country needed to make the right decisions. “These right choices refer to the correct economic, political, and social policies.”

International delegates attend
Delegates from India, Japan, Zambia, Lesotho and South Africa attended the conference, called A View from the Precipice: Critical Reflections on South Africa and Africa in the 21st Century, on 13 and 14 February 2017 on the Bloemfontein Campus. It was co-hosted by the UFS Department of Political Studies and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University (India), Centre for the Engagement on African Peace and Security, Southern African Centre for Collaboration on Peace and Security and Osaka University (Japan).

Prof Solomon said external actors provided a useful mirror as they gave an idea of how Africa and South Africa were viewed from abroad.

Creating a knowledge-sharing forum
“It is not just about sharing knowledge, but creating a forum for sharing knowledge,” said Prof Virgil Hawkins from the Osaka School of International Public Policy Studies.
Prof Hawkins, who is a visiting professor at the UFS, said a conference like this was one of the cornerstones of the relationship between the UFS and Osaka University. Prof Solomon is also a visiting professor at last mentioned university.

Highlights of conference
Prof Solomon said some of the discussions included that “the ANC government is in crisis and is dragging the rest of the country with it”. Another participant said that 80% of the jobs in the next 20 years had not been created yet – which put the relevance of tertiary education in the spotlight.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept