Professor Puleng LenkaBula, Principal and Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Unisa, engaged virtually with the management, academic and administrative staff members of the College of Education (CEDU) on Tuesday, 29 June 2021. The virtual visit by Unisa’s first woman vice-chancellor in 148 years was the first of its kind since she had taken the reins of the university earlier this year. The programme was skilfully steered by the Executive Dean of CEDU, Professor Phaladi Sebate.
During her address, the VC discussed in detail her vision and mission of taking CEDU and other constituent colleges of Unisa to greater heights. The robust interaction with members of CEDU included the following themes: strategies and tactics to reducing dropout and drop-off rates, enhancing student support, rethinking the role of markers and e-tutors, postgraduate supervisory capacity and outputs, internationalisation, and staff morale.
“eLearning is an imperative and now a competitive modality,” said the VC. “It is necessary to identify the risks associated with the eLearning landscape in order to sustain the mission of positioning Unisa as a high-ranking institution of higher learning.”
The VC expressed her gratitude to CEDU staff and commended the college for the progress that has been made so far, despite rigours of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where certainty had become uncertain.
The VC concluded the programme by encouraging staff to raise the challenges that they have experienced and discussed possible solutions. She stated that CEDU should harness its members’ voices and create an environment for the construction of a knowledge arena and hub.
* By Dineo Horner, acting Marketing and Communications Specialist, College of Education
Publish date: 2021-07-08 00:00:00.0