Unlawful protest action on DFC

CIRCULAR TO ALL STAFF AND STUDENTS

 

2010/469

 

Students at DFC participated in unlawful protest action on the Doornfontein Campus yesterday and again today. Classes have been disrupted, staff and students have been threatened and intimidated and property has been damaged.

 

About two weeks ago, the DFC SRC initiated protests over what they perceived to be unfair financial and academic exclusion of some students in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at DFC from the second semester. A meeting was held on 28 July 2010 between representatives of the SRC and the Registrar and the DVC (Finance) to discuss their concerns. A follow-up meeting between the Registrar and the SRC President took place on 3 August to further clarify matters. The Registrar analysed the concerns expressed by the students on academic exclusions and took immediate steps to address the matter. The decisions taken by the Registrar were implemented in the Faculties of Science and FEBE. Last week the SRC informed Management that they were dissatisfied with the fact that not all their demands had been met and that some students were prohibited from registering for modules in the second semester, after having failed these modules in the first semester. They informed Management that they would "strike" on Tuesday 10 August, to force Management to meet their demands. On Friday 6 August a series of discussions between various roleplayers took place, in an attempt to avert the "strike", but to no avail. Students were also informed that the proposed protest action was unlawful.

 

When the protest action took on serious proportions on Tuesday, the Pro Vice-Chancellor went to DFC to speak to the student leadership. A meeting was arranged for Thursday 12 August between SRC representatives and members of Management to again discuss the issues. Students have chosen to continue their unlawful activities, despite having been informed of the meeting that will take place on Thursday.

 

Management deplores the activities of the students and also deeply regrets that normal teaching and learning activities have been interrupted and that staff and students feel unsafe. Management is doing its best to manage the situation. The SAPS has been called in, and in collaboration with the UJ Protection Services are trying to normalize the situation.

 

 

 

PROF DEREK VAN DER MERWE

PRO VICE-CHANCELLOR

 

2010-08-11

Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela

The history and background of Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela means so much more to us than just being an international icon and the first Democratic President of South Africa. He is Madiba, our father. He was born and spent most of his formative years in the Eastern Cape.

"I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die". (Nelson Mandela)

Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela was born in Qunu, a small village near Mthatha in the former Transkei, (Eastern Cape) on 18 July 1918. As a member of the Madiba clan, he was raised amongst amaXhosa royalty.

He was a paramount figure of the formation of the ANC Youth League and, in 1991, he was elected President of the African National Congress.

Upon returning from Algiers after military training, Nelson Mandela was arrested and charged with attempting to overthrow the Apartheid Government. Convicted of sabotage and treason, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island (South Africa's Alcatraz).

The South African government responded to international pressure by releasing him on 11 February 1990 after 27 years imprisonment. He and South African President FW de Klerk jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize 1993 in recognition of their combined efforts towards reconciliation and peace in South Africa.

On 10 May 1994, he became the first democratically elected President of South Africa after a landslide victory in the April 1994 elections; it was the country's first ever election where all people (all races) of South Africa were allowed to vote. As an act of reconciliation, he appointed FW de Klerk, his formal rival, as one of two vice-presidents.

He retired from public life in June 1999, and is currently residing in Houghton, Johannesburg with his wife, Graca Machel. They exchanged vows on his 80th birthday in 1998.

He regularly visits his birthplace annually hosting local children to a Christmas Party. He has also founded the Nelson Mandela Children's Home, who take in AIDS orphans. They are educated and cared for by the tireless efforts made by volunteers and staff of the home. The 46664 Concerts which were held in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively and the profits thereof were donated to the home for children.

This great man, whose second name, Rholihlahla, literally means "the one who pulls the tree branch" and means "trouble-maker", united his country by urging citizens to stand up for themselves; to "make a noise" and "shake things up" for the further development and just treatment of all human beings, world-wide; to reconciliation, not revenge.

Nelson Mandela remains South Africa's best known and loved hero. He is the world's icon of peace and reconciliation, and throughout history he will be seen as personifying "a spirit of freedom" internationally.

Errors and Omissions Excepted

(Courtesy safari-central.com)

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Walk with the Giants in life

It is without a doubt the best thing to associate yourself with strong individuals if you really want to be such. Being with the weak will mislead you in thinking that you are the best, the strongest, etc. whilst you're actually the weakest.

A story goes: a mouse was crossing a bridge with an elephant. The bridge shook while they were crossing. Once they got to the other side the mouse exclaimed "Boy! We shook that bridge, didn't we?!"

You see, when you hang around with the big boys, the rich, the clever bunch, and so on, you will first feel that you are also big, rich, clever, until you really learn the skills and one day be what they are.

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Reitz 4 to be served court papers

6 Jul 2010

Bloemfontein - The Equality Court in Bloemfontein is to serve papers on Wednesday on four former Free State University students who made a video in which five black workers were allegedly humiliated.

The SA Human Rights Commission's Free State head Mothusi Lepheane said on Tuesday the commission handed in its papers at the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein last Wednesday.

A High Court official said the papers were to be served on the men on Wednesday.

In a statement, the commission said it asked the Equality Court to grant the women punitive damages of R1m each.

The commission said the students should also be declared guilty of unfair discrimination, by making and distributing the video.

The four students - RC Malherbe, Johnny Roberts, Schalk van der Merwe and Danie Grobler - made a video of an initiation-type ceremony in 2007 while living at the university's now-closed Reitz men's residence.

The video was leaked to the media in February 2008.

Humiliated
In it the four women cleaners and a man are seen on their hands and knees eating food which had apparently been urinated into by a white student. It also showed the women drinking from bottles of beer, racing against each other, dancing and playing rugby.

On Tuesday, the Freedom Front Plus criticised Free State HRC's "unforgiving" attitude towards the students. FF Plus youth leader Jan van Niekerk said the commission had found the students guilty without a hearing.

"What is worrying is the fact that the HRC already decided who was guilty, without any input from the Reitz students."

Van Niekerk said various complaints made by the FF Plus at the HRC's local office had never been investigated or followed-up.

"The FF Plus leader in the Free State (Abrie Oosthuizen) on 2 October 2009, even complained to President Jacob Zuma, at the way the HRC handles its cases."

Van Niekerk said the R1m claimed from each of the students in the Equality Court matter showed a clear grudge against the students.

The students had already suffered a huge loss due to the "unjust" publicity and views expressed before their hearing, he said.

The four also faced charges of crimen injuria in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court. This matter was postponed to July 27 for trial.

SAPA

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New curriculum, new language options

2010-07-06 19:47

Pretoria - Pupils now have the option of learning in their mother tongue for the first three years of schooling as part of the new curriculum, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said on Tuesday.

"The language chosen by the learner as a language of learning and teaching shall be taught as a subject, or as a first additional language from Grade 1," Motshekga told the media in Pretoria.

However, Motshekga emphasised that English would not replace pupils' home languages in the early grades.

The new curriculum Schooling 2025 would replace the highly criticised outcomes based education (OBE) system introduced in 1998.

However, OBE would not be completely scrapped but would be modified to improve the performance of school pupils.

This followed calls by teacher unions for OBE to be scrapped instead of modified as had been done.

They believed the system was biased and blamed it for the country's high failure and drop-out rates.

Admitting that the old curriculum had major problems, Motshekga said her department was reviewing the design and methodology of the OBE system.

"We have and will continue to make changes on an ongoing basis where they can be made with minimal disruption.

We expect better outcomes from the system."

Some of the changes in the system included the reduction of the number of projects for pupils with every subject in each grade consisting of its own concise curriculum, mapping out what teachers must teach and assess.

The department had since the beginning of the year done away with the need for portfolio files of pupils' assessments and discontinued the Common Tasks for Assessment for Grade 9s.

These changes followed recommendations by a ministerial committee tasked with the review of the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement in 2009.

The committee supported complaints by teachers that they were overloaded with administrative work and that curriculum goals were unrealistic as some pupils lacked resources like study material and access to the internet.

'The last ghost of 1998'

This was the third time the curriculum had been reviewed since its introduction 12 years ago.

Motshekga said this shuffling was "removing the last ghost of 1998" but was not a wholesale abandoning of the system.

"We now talk of a national curriculum and not OBE... It can't be true that we are phasing it out, we want to ensure stability and no fatigue."

Motshekga commended teachers for working hard despite the difficulties with OBE in the last 12 years - a system which she said paid little attention to knowledge but focused on skill and attitude.

"Things will from now on sail smoothly for them... We are giving them a solid base to move up... we are giving them more of less," she explained.

The policy of continuous assessment had also changed, particularly for Grade 7 to 9. Matrics remained unaffected with 75% of their marks coming from the year-end exams and 25% from continuous assessment.

Motshekga said the phasing in of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements in primary schools would only happen next year to allow time for the orientation and training of teachers.

"We will phase in other grades in 2012 so that we can make the necessary preparations," said Motshekga.

She said because some of the changes had policy implications, her department would follow due process and invite public comment.

"Our overarching priority is to bring about a fundamental change in schooling outcomes."

Director general for basic education Bobby Soobrayan said they were comfortable with the curriculum as it now stands and that it would ensure that pupils sufficiently understood key areas like literacy and maths.

He said workbooks were an important addition to the new curriculum as they would provide support to 6.5 million pupils from Grades 1 to 6 and to 180 000 teachers in nearly 20 000 schools.

The reshuffle was well received by those in the industry.

Western Cape education minister Donald Grant said if properly implemented, these changes could improve education outcomes.

"We are also especially pleased that the changes will bring back a far greater focus on the use of textbooks and on content knowledge - two aspects we are already focusing on strongly in the Western Cape," Grant said.

"The changes will go a long way to restoring a reasonable balance in the delivery of the curriculum."

Grant said teachers would now have more time to plan classroom schedules and support individual pupils instead of being overburdened with administrative duties.

Leader of the National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa Esrah Ramasehla, commended Motshekga and Soobrayan for embarking on a "coherent" long-term plan for improving education in the country.

"The review process should herald a period of stability and greater confidence in the curriculum."

SAPA

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FW de Klerk on land reform

F.W. de Klerk

01 June 2010

Former president warns against abandoning 'willing seller, willing buyer' principle

SPEECH BY FW DE KLERK - CAPE AGRI EMPLOYERS ORGANISATION 1 JUNE 2010 LAND REFORM

It would be a mistake to underestimate the emotional commitment of many black South Africans to the need for land reform. For them, the revolutionary struggle will not be complete until a substantial - and perhaps demographically proportional - area of South Africa has been restored to black ownership.

ANC statements on land reform almost invariably refer to the historic dispossession of black land by 'colonialists'. Last week, in a speech to the National Council of Provinces, the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Mr Gugile Nkwinti, once again referred to the 'colonialist' use of land to subdue the conquered population, to divide and rule them and to break down the traditional system of 'ubuntu'. He repeated the remarkable statement that he had made in Parliament on 24 March that "all anti-colonial struggles are at the core about two things, repossession of lost land and restoring the centrality of indigenous culture to underscore all nation-building endeavours."

The Freedom Charter calls for the redistribution of land among "those who worked it" to end hunger and "hunger for land". The need for land reform has been a constant theme of the ANC government. It was renewed at the 2005 Land Summit which called for an end to the willing buyer, willing seller approach. It was again evident in the resolution on land reform that was adopted by the ANC's National Conference at Polokwane in December 2007.

The Polokwane resolution described organized commercial agriculture as "the outcome of centuries of dispossession, labour coercion and state subsidy for the chosen few". It renewed the call for "the redistribution of 30% of agricultural land before 2014" and demanded the abandonment of "market-driven land reform" and the immediate review of "the of willing-seller, willing-buyer" principle.

The Polokwane resolution found expression in the controversial Expropriation Bill in 2008 which, in effect, tried to by-pass the courts in determining fair compensation for expropriated property. Fortunately, the Bill was withdrawn after an outcry from civil society, organized agriculture and foreign and local investors.

In a speech to Parliament on 24 March 2010, Minister Nkwinti launched a new land reform initiative. He said that national sovereignty was defined in terms of land and that land was a national asset. It was therefore 'fitting and appropriate' that his department had adopted a strategy of 'Agrarian Transformation'. The goal was a 'rapid and fundamental change in the ... systems and patterns of ownership and control of land, livestock, cropping and community.'

The new strategy would be promoted by the introduction of a three-tier land tenure system that would make provision for

• state land under leasehold;
• private land, under freehold with limited extent; and
• foreign-ownership under "precarious tenure linked to productivity and partnership models with South African citizens".

Presumably "freehold with limited extent" means that there might be a limit to the number, or the size, of properties that South Africans can own. The position of foreign land owners would be precarious and would require them to enter into partnerships with South Africans if they wish to retain an interest in their land. These proposals were supposed to have been set out in greater detail in a Green Paper that should have been presented to Parliament by the end of April - but which has still not appeared.

In a subsequent TV interview, Minister Nkwinti made it clear that one of his goals was to break up large farms - despite the fact that they produce 80% of South Africa's food. The Minister's position was in line with the Polokwane resolution that called for the abandonment of all policies that favoured large-scale, capital intensive agriculture and proposed a special land tax to encourage the sale of under-utilised land and the deconcentration of land ownership.

Before the agricultural community could fully digest the implications of Minister Nkwinti's announcement, they were confronted with fresh and apparently uncoordinated proposals for another form of land reform from the Minister of Agriculture, Tina Joemat-Pettersson.

In an interview with Die Burger, she said that the ANC was considering a share scheme for black farmers in terms of which commercial farmers would relinquish 40% of the value of their farms to black shareholders. This would help the government to reach its land reform target which she said had been impeded by the 'willing buyer, willing seller' principle. The proposal would apparently be set out in new Black Economic Empowerment legislation for the agricultural sector. This would presumably require the renegotiation of the agricultural sector empowerment charter, which was signed in March 2008 after exhaustive discussions. The proposed agricultural share scheme will apparently be discussed at the ANC's National General Council meeting in September.

Joemat-Pettersson warned that "If we did not break the deadlock and solve the land question together we were headed for a situation that would make Zimbabwe look like a teddy-bear's picnic." However, President Zuma subsequently denied that there would be "similar kinds of land invasions in this country, because we do things within the law." He said that the current land distribution method would have to be revisited and that significant changes would have to be made in the "willing seller, willing buyer" model. The government was looking for a less costly and more pragmatic approach.

It is clear from all these developments that we can expect far-reaching new land reform initiatives later this year. It would be wise for all those involved to consider the following realities:

• Property rights are at the very heart of the negotiated constitutional consensus. Section 25 makes provision for expropriation in the public interest - which specifically includes land reform. However, compensation must either be agreed by the affected parties or approved by a court in a manner that reflects an equitable balance between the public interest and interests of the landowner. Any attempt to deviate from this principle will have very negative consequences for agriculture; for national unity; and for future foreign and domestic investment in the economy.
• Although land reform enjoys high priority with the ANC, the great majority of black South Africans do not want to become farmers. According to a survey by the Centre for Development and Enterprise in 2006 only 9% of black non-farmers have clear aspirations to farm. Only 2% identified rural land as a priority.
• Although less than 6% of agricultural land has been transferred to black South Africans in terms of government schemes, more than 25 million hectares are either owned by the Government or are in the former homelands. Private non-recorded land sales might have transferred as much as 7% of agricultural land to black owners. All this land added together is not too far short of the ANC's 30% goal.
• 5% of agricultural land comes onto the market every year. The main problem is most often not that farmers are demanding exorbitant prices but that the state bureaucracy is incapable of effectively handling the transactions.
• Food security is a national priority. It is essential that redistributed land should not result in reductions in food production.
• Successful modern agriculture often requires large farms with high levels of capital, expertise and luck.
• Small scale farming does not present a panacea for black development. The agricultural sector contributes only 2.6% to gross domestic product.
• It is meaningless simply to set percentages as targets for land redistribution. Ten thousand hectares in the Karoo can support fewer people than 100 hectares in well-watered parts of the country.
• By the end of 2009 29% of redistributed farms had failed and 22% experienced declining productivity. One of the main causes of the failures was the inability of government to provide the necessary support and assistance.

South Africa urgently needs successful and sustainable land reform. To achieve this we should consider the following approaches:

• Everything we do should be consistent with the letter and spirit of our carefully balanced and negotiated constitution.
• We need a comprehensive land reform audit. How much government land is available for redistribution? How much land has been transferred to black South Africans through normal sales? To what extent has the willing seller, willing buyer principle actually failed?
• We need a rapid and effective approach to granting farmers in the traditional homelands proper freehold or leasehold title to the land that they farm.
• Urgent steps must be taken to improve the effectiveness of the government departments and institutions involved with land reform.
• We need genuine and effective consultation and cooperation between government and organised agriculture on workable approaches to land reform. Organised agriculture has proved repeatedly that it is willing to assist in this regard.
• We must not abandon the willing seller, willing buyer principle as the first option for land reform. We cannot afford a situation where South African citizens - simply because of their race - are forced to abandon farms which their families might have developed over generations.
• We must abandon ideological and racial approaches to land ownership. We need to give very careful to consideration to the implications of Minister Nkwinti's statement that "all anti-colonial struggles are at the core about two things, repossession of lost land and restoring the centrality of indigenous culture to underscore all nation-building endeavours."

We should pause for a moment to consider the implications of this statement:

1.    the first is that the anti-colonialist struggle is not over;

2.    the second is that white farmers are evidently still regarded either as 'colonialists' - or as the beneficiaries of colonialists;

3.    the third is advocacy of the centrality of the indigenous culture. Presumably other cultures will play a peripheral role in the nation that Minister Nkwinti is endeavouring to build.

Such attitudes are entirely irreconcilable with our Constitution and with the need to promote national unity.

Just as it would be a mistake to underestimate the emotional commitment of many black South Africans to the need for land reform - it would equally be a mistaken to underestimate the emotional commitment of white farmers to their land, to their profession and to South Africa. Land reform remains an urgent priority for us all. We will not achieve success if we oppose one another as 'colonialists' and 'anti-colonialists'; as indigenous and non-indigenous; as those who claim a central cultural position - and those who are consigned to the periphery. To achieve success we will all have to work together as fellow South Africans, as equals and as fellow children of the African soil.

Issued by the FW de Klerk Foundation, June 1 2010

Supervisor II: International Admissions

>> Management >> Supervisor II: International Admissions Job Reference Number N1003648/LZ Job Title: Supervisor II: International Admissions Job Type (Academic/Non-Academic): Non-Academic Department/Division: Student Enrolment Centre Campus: Auckland Park Kingsway Peromnes Equivalent: 8 Faculty/Group: Registrar Application Closing Date: 9/6/2010 Post Description: To manage the process of enquiries for applications, selections, registration and compliance of international students who wish to study at the University of Johannesburg. This will entail the following: - The selection of International undergraduate applications and ongoing communication in this regard. - Manage the staff of the international office. - Oversee relevant enquiries regarding application and selection (personal, telephonic & electronic). - Responsible for the pre-registration process of international students on all campuses. - Responsible for the legislative compliance of all international students at UJ (fault lists). - Oversee that the legislative compliance documentation per registered student are recorded and updated both electronically and in hard copy format. - Negotiate with medical cover advisors regarding products and service for international student. - Represent the Department when attending meetings. - Liaise with faculties and other relevant service departments when necessary. - Liaise with Department of Home Affairs on a regular basis. - Liaise with foreing missions when necessary. - Responsible for policies relating to international students at UJ. - Responsible for developing and implementing relevant processes and procedures regarding international students at UJ. - Responsible for website management regarding application, selection, compliance and registration. - Responsibel for the information needed for the application/recruitment documentation. Requirements: - Relevant tertiary qualification. - At least 3 years experience of international relations in a higher education environment. - Knowledge of ITS. - Excellent communication and people skills. - Independent means of transport and a valid driver's licence. Assumption of Duties: As soon as possible. Equity Statement: In addition to merit on the basis of qualifications, experience and proven achievements, the University of Johannesburg is committed to taking persons with disabilities and the potential of historically disadvantaged individuals or groups into account for appointment. The University reserves the right to make no appointment if no candidate meets the necessary requirements. Enquiries: Mr. Gert van Wyk, tel: 011 559-4501