The management of the North-West University (NWU) is pleased with the recent announcement by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) that the NWU Bachelor of Laws (LLB) programme has received full accreditation. The CHE’s response bears relation to the submission of the NWU Progress Report submitted to them in October 2018.

Vice-Chancellor of the NWU, Prof Dan Kgwadi said: “From the onset we had a dedicated team addressing the identified shortcomings, and all along I was confident that the NWU will through addressing the issues as identified by the CHE, ensure that we deliver an even better LLB degree, not only to the benefit of our students, but also to that of the country.”

Our position has always been that the strategy that we have implemented is poised to address the concerns raised by the CHE - a strategy of positioning the NWU as a unitary institution of superior academic excellence, with a commitment to social justice. This strategy is complemented by a structure that provides for a single executive dean, responsible for a faculty which spans all three campuses of the NWU. This ensures that programmes are fully aligned and managed across all campuses.

The roles played by the deputy vice-chancellor for teaching-learning, Prof Robert Balfour as well as the executive dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof Stephen de la Harpe, together with management, as well as the faculty team in steering the accreditation process, should be applauded. The hard work done by each and every member of the faculty as well as other role players in the university, cannot be over-stated. Their dedication is testimony to the university’s dedication to providing quality education to the communities it serves nationally and beyond.