The Registrars' Imbizo sees registrars from all universities in South Africa come together for a broader engagement on the state of higher education in the country. Furthermore, the gathering provides the perfect platform for sharing experiences and terms of reference through presentations and networking.
The three-day event was chaired by UMP Registrar Mr Sello Legodi was opened by the Dean of Students, Dr Paul Maminza who said that the conference came at a crucial time in the higher education landscape in South Africa.
“As we all know, Registrars are the engines of universities. A gathering of this nature can thus be equated to taking your vehicle for a service. The service of a vehicle guarantees, to a certain extent, its optimum and efficient performance. This Imbizo is expected to do just that.”
Dr Maminza further said that Registrars are the custodians of university rules and regulations and that violent protests by students should not be allowed to curb or disturb the operations and functioning of the university.
“It is critical that universities devise internal strategies, specifically because the external involvement and support from the security cluster tend not to be enough and or adequate during the violent protests. We have seen how slow law enforcement agents react to such, which is a cause for concern.”
He further said that the notion of ‘protest season’, which is typically in the beginning of the year, should be a thing of the past.
“This Imbizo is very much relevant as it deals with very topical issues that need urgent attention. Hopefully we will be able, as a collective, find long-lasting solutions to these issues,” added Dr Maminza.
The three-day conference discussed issues that affected all the registrars of public institutions.
Issues and solutions
Some of the critical issues that were tabled at the Imbizo were student funding, access to records, and a status update by the Central Applications Clearing House (CACH) we. The universities shared their experiences especially during registration time and it was clear that all universities experienced the greatest issues around student funding.
Mr Thilivhali Mukondeleli from NESFAS addressed the funding issues. He shared how they were dealing with allowances and registration challenges and how these measures would provide universities with some relief regarding student funding and the issues it brought to the fore.
Some points of discussion included:
- Sharing of institutional student expulsion lists;
- An increasingly litigious environment – are Registrar’s offices adequately resourced to deal with this?;
- Cyber security;
- Availability of transcripts and statement on conduct to other institutions;
- Ways in which USAf can support Registrars;
- Workshops for Admission Staff on interpretation of exemption regulations and submission of exemption applications;
- Responding to policy and new regulations.
The highlight of the conference was a talk by researcher and lecturer Dr Oliver Seale, who is the Director of the Higher Education Leadership and Management (HELM) Programme who provided insights into higher education leadership matters facing universities – and Registrars in particular.
The conference closed with a guided tour of the magnificent buildings of the University of Mpumalanga. Some of the sites visited included the state of the art Library and Information Services Centre, and the Conference and Wellness Centre, which is home to the university hotel.
@ Story by Lisa Thabethe. Pictures @Chrisclphoto