Education

The University of Limpopo celebrated 60 years in 2019.

The University of Limpopo celebrated a significant milestone in September 2019, a 60th birthday. As part of the celebrations, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was installed as the university’s first female Chancellor.

Early in 2020, the university received a gift in the form of a R480million loan from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) for the construction of a 3 500-bed student residence. Other contributions will come from the Department of Higher Education and Training and the National Treasury Budget Facility for Infrastructure. This is the first phase of a longer-term project to provide 15 000 beds over the next 15 years.

The University of Venda (UNIVEN) is making strides in the field of waste-to-energy. The Green Technologies Promotion Drive draws from the Department of Physics and the schools of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences with support from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Water Research Commission (WRC). One of its goals is to develop the biogas market.

The Univen Innovative Growth Company offers professional services to the outside world through four units which cover areas such as statistics and design and editing. This not only creates another revenue stream for the University of Venda but links the academic institution to the commercial world.

The Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (formerly part of Limpopo University) is now an independent university in Gauteng Province. University of South Africa (Unisa) has a regional support centre in Polokwane and agencies at Makhado and Giyani.

The longstanding issue of school sanitation infrastructure is being tackled aggressively. A commitment was made in February 2020 that 515 schools in the province will benefit from new or upgraded infrastructure this year. Some of the funding for this programme comes from the Presidential School Sanitation Infrastructure Grant.

A Coding and Robotic curriculum is to be introduced in 110 primary schools in the 2021 academic year. There are 15 secondary schools in Limpopo offering Information Technology at Grade 12

Online Resources

Limpopo Department of Education: www.edu.limpopo.gov.za National Education Collaboration Trust: www.nect.org.za Turfloof Graduate School of Leadership: www.ul.ac.za Sector Insight Energy research is going forward at the University of Venda.

while 46 schools are offering Computer Applications Technology. During 2020, a further 75 secondary and 32 primary schools are to be provided with ICT equipment.

The School Nutrition Programme in Limpopo feeds pupils in 3 795 public schools and the Scholar Transport Programme is active in 380 schools. The No-Fee School Policy applies to more than

1.6-million pupils and more than 231 000 children have been enrolled at Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres.

There are seven Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in Limpopo: Capricorn College, Lephalale College, Mopani East College, Mopani South College, Sekhukhune College, Vhembe College and Waterberg College. ■

UIGC graduation. Image: UIGC

University of Limpopo

Finding solutions for Africa.

The University of Limpopo celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2019. With a strong history in the struggle against apartheid, the university counts among its alumni the current Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni and President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Located in the rural township of Mankweng in the Capricorn District of the Limpopo Province with an enrolment of 22 000 students, the university plays a vital role in the region. New hostels are being built to accommodate increasing demand and the university is expanding its curriculum and the scope of its research.

History The University College of the North was established in 1959 in terms of legislation which aimed to create ethnicallybased institutions. However, the University of the North became a centre of resistance to apartheid. In 1972, Onkgopotse Tiro sharply criticised Bantu education in a graduation speech. He was expelled and later killed by a parcel bomb while exiled in Botswana.

The University of Limpopo is the result of a 2005 merger between the former Medical University of Southern Africa and the University of the North. In 2015 the University of Limpopo became a standalone institution with its own Faculty of Health Sciences, offering qualifications in medicine, nursing, dietetics and nutrition, pharmacy, optometry and medical sciences.

The 60th anniversary celebrations coincided with the inauguration of the university’s first female Chancellor, Dr Nkosazanza Dlamini-Zuma. A qualified medical practitioner, she was the first Minister of Health in post-apartheid South Africa and is currently Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

Vision: To be a leading African university focused on the developmental needs of its communities and epitomising academic excellence and innovativeness.

Mission: A university which responds actively to the development needs of its students, staff and communities through relevant and higher-quality education and training, research and community engagement, and in partnership and collaboration with its stakeholders.

Values: Accountability; Transparency; Integrity; Academic Freedom; Excellence and Professionalism.

Faculties Health Sciences Schools of Health Sciences and Medicine. Humanities Schools of Languages and Communication Studies; Education; Social Sciences. Science and Agriculture Schools of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Mathematical and Computer Sciences; Molecular and Life Sciences; Physical and Mineral Science. Management and Law Schools of Economics and Management; Law; Accountancy; Turfloop Graduate School of Leadership ■

Contact details

Physical Address: C/O R71 Tzaneen Road and University Street, Mankweng Township, Polokwane, Limpopo Province Tel: +27 15 268 9111 Enrolment email: enrolment@ul.ac.za Website: www.ul.ac.za

New research units are finding new solutions

The Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Limpopo (UL), Professor Mahlo Mokgalong, commits the university to more local engagement and building an international reputation.

Professor Mahlo Mokgalong

BIOGRAPHY

Professor Mokgalong’s speciality for his PhD (Zoology) was Parasitology while his MSc focused on Limnology. While completing his PhD he worked at the British Museum of Natural History and the Commonwealth Institute of Parasitology where he discovered his love of research. He has been Research Assistant, Senior Lecturer, Deputy Dean and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Agriculture. He first enrolled at the University of the North (as UL then was) in 1972. Congratulations on UL’s 60th anniversary. Where to from here? The next chapter beyond this 60-year feat will be the building and sustaining of an international reputation. We have established a portfolio of “Research, Innovation and Partnerships” to begin positioning the university as a global player in knowledge generation. We want to remain as the University of Limpopo for human and environmental wellness, finding solutions for Africa. We are proud to have several health-related programmes. We are, so far, the only university to establish a medical school post-1994. We are also participating in the Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro programme. The 2018 cohort which we hosted secured a 100% pass.

Is this giving life to UL’s motto “Finding solutions for Africa”? We have established a unit called the Rural Development and Innovation Hub (RDIH), which serves as the primary vehicle for innovation and the institutionalisation of our scholarship of engagement. Major projects such as the Faculty of Science and Agriculture’s “Science Centre”, the Limpopo Agro-Food Technology Station (LATS) and the Limpopo Co-Lab lead the way. Alongside these highly visible flagships are a myriad transdisciplinary projects, including Creative Waste Management, the Nguni Cattle Project,

University of Limpopo campus

Epigenetics and the In-Utero Environment, Adopt a School Projects, Space Week and Hydroponics.

Is the environment a concern for researchers? We have various departments that participate in environmental wellness. The Department of Biodiversity researches on several issues, including riverine health which relates to a system of inland wetlands and deep-water habitats. They are also studying the effects of pollution on the health of aquatic life or fresh-water fish. We are succeeding in our research to make sure that we use extracts from indigenous plants as pesticides.

Is climate change on the UL agenda? We host a Risk and Vulnerability Science Centre for Limpopo Province. Here we gather data on climate change and feed into the national atlas.

How is UL’s collaboration with private and public partners progressing in agriculture? The Nguni Cattle Project is aimed at empowering rural small-scale livestock farmers and serves as a model for poverty reduction, promotion of economic growth, engagement with and development of rural communities. During 2019/20, the university further developed and implemented a formal training programme for emerging farmers to be trained in relevant business management skills.

How do you help students adjust to university? We realised that some students came to the university underprepared, requiring additional assistance. We introduced them to a foundation programme in the sciences. The programme was conceived and delivered without any grant from the government and only survived through external funding. Donors such as the European Union ensured that the programme survived and delivered, and today, in the form of an Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP), it has become a tool to identify students with potential, with everybody in the sector pushing in the direction we took almost three decades ago.

How does UL contribute to community health? We are not a rural university, but a responsive university in a rural setting. Certain issues like disease and the health of the population are often neglected because they are not understood. For the last 22 years, we have had a population health study. There has been an increase in diabetes among the rural population.We visit these households annually and conduct surveys.

What has been the impact of the DIMAMO Population Health Research Centre? We started in 2019 with a population of 40 000 and now we are at 100 000 at Dikgale and Mamabolo villages. We have included other communities as well. Every year we collect data with the same group of people to uncover any new developments. We also try to improve the lives of the people and lobby others to provide a solution.

What measures are in place on campus for students with disabilities? As a caring institution that recognises that students with disabilities should enjoy the same rights as any other student, we have put measures in place to promote the quality of these students’ education and lives. A dedicated centre called the Reakgona Disability Centre, which is armed with a host of devices that help the disabled community, has been splendidly making the university experience liveable for students with disabilities.

What other assistance is there for students? UL has introduced the Baditi Student Support Programme where senior students groom new students. The Sepedi name Baditi is derived from the African initiation school tradition and refers to graduates who train their successors. The mandate is to look after and mentor new students who have just enrolled so that they don’t get lost or discouraged. In addition, a programme targeted at female academics, University of Limpopo Women’s Academic Solidarity Association (ULWASA), encourages aspiring female researchers to gain support from senior female academics. Big Walk