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VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PRINCIPAL’S ADDRESS TO THE SEPTEMBER
2015 GRADUATION CEREMONY HELD AT ZAMUKULUNGISA SITE
GREAT HALL ON TUESDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2015
Madam Chancellor, Ambassador Sheila Sisulu in Absentia
Chair of Council, Judge Nambitha Dambuza, also in Absentia
Council Members here present, Mr Ndumiso Lancelot Capa
Members of the Institutional Management Committee
Honourable Guest Speaker, The Chief Executive Officer of SA Express,
Mr Anathi Ntshanga
Rev Songxaba
Deans and Members of the Academic Procession
Representative of the WSU Convocation
The SRC Executive Committee and all Members of the SRC
Distinguished Guests
Members of Staff, both Academic and Non-Academic
Parents, Guardians, Family and Friends of Graduands
Graduands, who are our Guests of Honour today
Student Body at Large
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is indeed my pleasure and honour to welcome you all to this
September 2015 Graduation Ceremony of Walter Sisulu University
(WSU). This is a Graduation Ceremony for all Eleven (11) Faculties
and all Four (4) Campuses of WSU. It is a One Day Ceremony for
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those who were not ready for the Six (6) Day May 2015 Graduation
Ceremonies.
Our Chancellor, Ambassador Sheila Sisulu is not here today because
of being hospitalised since Monday the 14th September 2015. She is
undergoing some tests and hopefully will be out of hospital soon.
May I take this opportunity to wish her a speedy recovery. Our Chair
of Council also planned to come to this graduation but an emergency
came up at work. That is why she is not hear today. We are however
very greatful to have in our midst, one of the External Council
Members, Mr Ndumiso Lancelot Capa, who is also a Member of
Parliament.
Honoured Guests, WSU has lost some students and staff members
during the course of this year. Most recently, we lost a student at
Potsdam Site, at Buffalo City Campus in East London, who, according
to the report I have been given, collapsed and died on Sunday the
20th September 2015. May the souls of those departed staff
members and students of this university rest in peace.
Walter Sisulu University was inaugurated in July 2005 and is now 10
years old. This is therefore a special graduation ceremony that marks
the beginning of the second decade for this university.
Graduation day is a day of celebration. This is another way of sharing
with the rest of society, what the university is sending out to the
world. At this September Graduation, WSU will be awarding degrees,
diplomas and certificates to a total of 739 graduands. WSU is
exceptionally pleased to announce that out of the 739 graduands, we
will be awarding 9 Doctoral Degrees, 25 Masters and 39 Honours
degrees. In May, this university had a total of 4534 graduands and 7
Doctoral Degrees. The total number of WSU graduates for 2015 is
therefore 5273 and the total number of Doctoral Degrees is 16. This
is a good number of Doctoral Degrees as compared with the previous
years, despite the fact that we are an institution in transition, where
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Doctoral Degrees/PhDs are only offered in Education and Health
Sciences. I am however very happy to announce that the Department
of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has just approved the
offering of Doctoral Degrees/PhDs in Natural Sciences. What is left is
for us to make a submission to HEQC and then to SAQA for
registration of the qualification. So, those of you who want to do
PhDs in Natural Sciences at WSU, the opportunity for that is coming
soon. The healthy competition between Health Sciences and
Education (5+2 in May in favour of Health Sciences, and 3+6 in
September, in favour of Education) will soon be joined by Natural
Sciences. So watch the space. This production thrend will definitely
improve the financial situation at WSU in the years to come.
On behalf of WSU Council, the Chancellor, Management, Staff,
Students and most importantly Parents, I would like to congratulate
all the graduands. We rejoice with your parents and families on this
day of recognition of your hard-earned academic achievement. We
know that it has not been easy to reach this stage in your lives. As
WSU we are proud to have been part of the making and
development of your careers. We wish you well in all your future
plans. Do not forget to play your role, especially in fund raising, as
alumni of this university.
Walter Sisulu University is trying to improve the systems for fund
raising by (i) maintaining the inputs in terms of enrolment plans as
approved by DHET, (ii) increasing the outputs in terms of graduation
rates and research projects with particular attention to production of
Masters and PhDs, and Research Publications in Peer Reviewed
Journals, and (iii) working very hard on Community Engagement
activities that will assist WSU on the 3rd stream income. WSU has
good relations with Government, Non-governmental organisations
and Business Sector. We are signing memoranda of understanding
with a number of organisations including SETAs (merSETA, TETA,
INSETA, HWSETA), SANRAL, Municipalities (recently Ntabankulu),
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Communities (recently Lindile in Mthatha) and Community
Investment Trusts (recently Zulukama at Whittlesea), Research
Foundations and/or Councils (NRF and SAMRC), other Universities
(UCT, Stellenbosch), other Countries (Botswana, Ethiopia). WSU, in
partnership with Botswana and Ethiopia, has received research
funding on Food Security from Association of African Universities.
We have just hosted a very successful joint Univen-WSU
International Conference, which is going to be followed by a writing
workshop, from which more than 100 research papers are expected
to emerge. The aim is to double the number of publications in peer
reviewed journals in 2016. This commitment to publications will also
contribute positively towards an improved financial state of the
university in the coming years, in addition to quality education, fight
for equity, striving for efficiency and commitment to offering
programmes that are relevant to the needs of the people we serve.
On the student matters, we have managed a successful journey
towards successful and credible SRC elections. The new SRC was
inaugurated yesterday and the event was also successful, where the
newly elected SRC representatives pledged commitment to the
bigger picture of taking this institution forward.
The office of the Vice Chancellor has decided to revive and
strengthen the WSU Convocation and if all goes well, we will have an
Annual General Meeting at the 1st week of November 2015.
Graduands, please join the convocation and assist in all of its
activities for the sake of our university and as a way of ploughing
back to the institution that has made you what you are.
Let me again congratulate the graduands. We count on you in
fulfilling the vision and mission of this institution. As we end the year,
we are working on an Annual Performance Plan for 2016, in line with
our Strategic Plan. Please do not forget that the focus for WSU is “to
be a world class community engaged comprehensive university, that
is a “leader and institution of choice in selected flagship
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programmes, which address community and country needs
especially the rural communities it serves, in partnership with
government, non-governmental organisations, business and other
institutions of higher learning”.
On a personal note, I wish to thank this university for keeping me as
Vice Chancellor and Principal, for the last few years and at the end of
my career, as a full time employee at an institution of higher
learning. I enjoyed my stay of 27 years at this university and
hopefully I made a contribution, no matter how small. The search for
a new Vice Chancellor and Principal has not been completed.
Hopefully this will be completed before the end of this year. I
therefore wish to take this opportunity to wish all those associated
with Walter Sisulu University, the strength and courage to hold tight,
and jointly build a sustainable university that will stand and be fully
functional for many many years to come. Together, we shall
overcome.
I thank you,
God Bless Walter Sisulu University
God Bless Africa
Ndiyayigongotha.