Minister Pandor opens Siyaphumelela conference
ILLOVO –Minister Naledi Pandor opens the Siyaphumelela conference on 12 June.
The 2018 Siyaphumelela Conference was opened by a special address by Minister of Higher Education and Training Naledi Pandor on 12 June at the Wanderers Club.
The conference hosted three days of workshops and presentations focusing on the struggles students at institutions of higher learning. The annual conference is a central aspect of the Siyaphumelela programme that is aimed at improving capacity at South African universities to use data analytics to improve student success.
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Pandor used her address to highlight the adverse effects student funding has on South African students. “Students who are inadequately funded experience great challenges in regard to food security, suitable accommodation, and ability to obtain textbooks and other resources.
“These tend to be poor black working class students we need to develop models of funding and support that address their needs. The government has chosen to introduce a full-cost bursary scheme for students whose family income is under R350 000 a year.”
Pandor added that she is optimistic about this new bursary scheme, but she further highlighted that in addition to funding, students also need academic support.
“Recent research on student expenses in our universities suggests much more work is needed to achieve transformation. While we are on an upward trajectory, we still need to improve throughput rates. We now have a collective responsibility in university education to ensure that most students graduate with a quality degree.
“To do this means taking responsibility for our students’ success. It means that we have to understand our students’ needs.”
Managing director of the Kresge Foundation, which funds the conference, Bill Moses said, “We need models of funding that fully support students and their needs. With student success, there is no magic bullet. No one consultant, one app, one solution. Student success has to be an approach, not a priority but the priority.”
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Media spokesperson Silindile Nyathikazi said, “As the only conference focusing on the use of analytics to promote student success in sub-Saharan Africa, the conference provides a platform for international and local experts and practitioners to discuss evidence-based practices and national systemic interventions aimed at student success.”
Details: https://www.siyaphumelela.org.za
