Over the past few years, there were not nearly enough school-leaving applicants who met the minimum requirements for tertiary fields of study such as Engineering, Natural Sciences, Economic Sciences and Health Sciences. This is according to Elza Hattingh from the Faculty of Engineering at the North-West University (NWU). She heads the faculty’s Xcel programme – an initiative that offers a second chance to students who want to improve their previous Grade 12 Senior Certificate exam results in Mathematics and Physical Sciences.

North-West University (NWU) academic in the Indigenous Language Media in Africa research entity Prof Gilbert Motsaathebe recently presented a seminar titled “Multilingual online responses on the ‘Hollywood-style’ arrest of a defence lawyer in a high-profile case”.

The North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng Campus recently hosted its annual Mr and Miss Mahikeng Campus pageant and Kowan Thomas and Nontokozo Makhubu clinched the titles.

Hosted by the Student Campus Council, this annual event was supported by many students and family members at the campus’ Great Hall.

Following a tough elimination round that tested the contestants’ knowledge on social awareness, Thomas and Ntokozo emerged victorious. In addition, Thomas was also announced Mr Community.

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.