The Covid-19 pandemic has once again highlighted the reading literacy crisis in South Africa. The inaugural 2030 Reading Panel calls for “fundamental reforms” to ensure that all children read for meaning by 2030 at the age 10. Currently, 78% of children cannot read for meaning. Due to rotational timetables and school closures in 2020 and 2021, children in South Africa have lost 1,3 years of learning.

This is according to Prof Carisma Nel from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Faculty of Education.  

Prof Olubukola Oluranti Babalola is not afraid to push boundaries and this top-achieving academic is the epitome of excellence.

Prof Babalola is the director of the Food Security and Safety research focus area at the North-West University (NWU), leading as the head and principal investigator of a microbial biotechnology research laboratory.

The debate on the future of the African National Congress (ANC) continues. North-West University lecturer in political science and international relations, Naledi Modise, believes it is time to imagine South Africa without the ANC.

Naledi has weighed in on questions by leading political analyst Lukhona Mguni about whether the ANC is still fit for purpose.

“I suggest that the ANC can no longer be trusted to be a leader of society as it had been during the liberation struggle, and it is time to imagine a South Africa without it,” says Naledi.

The Debating Society on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus made great strides at the Southern Africa Universities Debating Championship grand final when Thato Katametsi and Jeremiah Mukwena attained overall second position in the English second language category.

The grand final took place on 13 August 2022 at Wits University, with four teams – consisting of two people per team – participating. The teams were the NWU, Wits University, the University of Johannesburg and Free State University. Wits University walked away with the first prize.

While female students on all three campuses of the North-West University (NWU) have a keen interest in current news, what and how much news they consume differs according to personal, demographic and sociographic factors.

This is the conclusion of lecturer in Communication Studies Dr Chilombo Banda’s PhD study on news consumption patterns of female students on the Mahikeng, Potchefstroom and Vanderbijlpark campuses.

Oldrin Masowa

Local libraries often do not have the means to acquire much-needed computers and books on a regular basis. Staff of the North-West University (NWU) Library and Information Service (LIS) in Potchefstroom saw this need and reached out with a generous donation to the JB Marks community libraries.

Louise Vos, LIS senior manager, says the donation on 15 August consisted of 10 computers and nearly 800 books.

by Ontiretse Motingwa

Traditionally a dojo is a place for learning or meditation, most often in the field of martial arts, and the Mbada residence on the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus have embraced this philosophy.

The residence recently hosted a women’s dojo at the Great Hall, where they invited boxing and karate sporting codes to give lessons to the ladies who attended on how they should defend themselves against perpetrators.

A team of second-year students from the Faculty of Law on the Vanderbijlpark Campus of the North-West University (NWU) are this year’s winners in the popular annual NWU Juta Mock Trial competition that took place in Potchefstroom on 15 August.

Wesley Sneijder, Fabio Cannavaro, Carlos Tevez, Raul Gonzalez, and Mateo Kovacic are among some of the best football players and have one thing in common – before the dizzying heights of fame and fortune, they all started off as ball boys.

Omphile Shuping, one of the North-West University (NWU) Eagles team members taking part in the 2022 Varsity Sports Football tournament, also started as a ball boy for the NWU team during the inaugural Varsity Football tournament in 2013.