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News - Date: 26 September 2008
History was made at the
Tshivhase was addressing more than 600 graduates, who included a record 16 master’s degrees, in a packed auditorium during the spring graduation ceremony held at the University on Friday. The students graduated in agriculture, health sciences, human and social sciences, environmental science, law, management, mathematics and natural sciences and post-graduate and integrated studies.
Ecstatic parents and well-wishers ululated and danced each time one of their own ascended the stage to receive a degree or diploma.
Addressing the meeting, Tshivhase urged Univen to engage the Council for Higher Education for more infrastructure in order to increase the enrolment of students and to accommodate more of them from disadvantaged backgrounds. Tshivhase said the previously disadvantaged universities have shown an immense contribution towards the development of rural and poor communities by affording them the chance to higher education.
“The privileged universities are a no-go area for the less fortunate as they cannot meet the financial demands to enter such institutions and their last resort are the disadvantaged universities whose fees are affordable to them,” he said. He said the university’s remarkable shift to science and technology resulted in the introduction of career-focused programmes, which led to increased students numbers.
He added that Univen’s location in the province dictates that it should respond to the needs of the province by making sure the skills it produces are relevant as other institutions worldwide are also positioning themselves in the same competitive environment. Tshivhase said he shared the view that universities should respond to cultural and political participation. “It is my view that historically disadvantaged institutions, given their uniqueness, should serve and be embedded in the communities in which they operate before they can think of positioning themselves in the global world,” he said.
Univen’s principal, Prof Peter Mbati, said the university has a mandate to serve and contribute to the development of the communities at which they are located. He thanked the parents and students for their selfless sacrifices that culminated in their graduating.
Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019. He currently writes on a freelance basis, covering human rights issues, court news and entertainment.
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