Fort Hare embraces ‘A decade of renewal’

Modernised infrastructure, curriculum renewal and new research agenda driving UFH forward

In 2022, the University of Fort Hare unveiled its new consolidated five-year strategic plan, titled “Towards a Decade of Renewal”. With the appointment of a new council and top management team, the university community embraced the concept of renewal.

The new strategic plan serves as a blueprint for the upcoming reconstruction efforts over the next five years to strengthen the university. It incorporates principles of transformation, equity, and socioeconomic contextualization. 

Now, midway through the plan, the university is on track to reclaim its position as one of the premier institutions of higher learning in South Africa and the continent.

Multimillion-rand greenfield infrastructure projects and property upgrades are either planned, underway or completed. These include smart classrooms, biometric security upgrades across all three campuses, a new student centre in the East London CBD, water security through the upgrading of water treatment plants in Alice, a new early childhood development centre and refurbishments for the Alice library.  

These projects aim to enhance the student experience by providing modernised infrastructure and incorporating new technologies suitable for quality teaching and research. 

Through curriculum renewal, UFH will offer innovative, socially and contextually relevant programmes to produce graduates with attributes that meet the needs of society and future workplaces. 

Pending approval from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the Council on Higher Education (CHE), UFH will offer new programs in liberation and heritage studies, dairy science and technology and entrepreneurship.

UFH will also impact society through its new niche research, which responds to the National Development Plan (NDP), other national or regional priorities and the needs of stakeholders.

Last year, the institution launched its new niche areas: renewable energy; sustainable agriculture, water usage, and the impact of climate change; infectious diseases and medicinal plants; research in inclusion and township economies; and African liberation heritage in citizenship and society.

“UFH has committed to putting in the significant work required to strengthen its foundations and reimagine itself. The renewal project will see the university flourish increasingly as the end of the decade approaches,” said Prof Sakhela Buhlungu, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UFH. 

“The institution will be offering new niche programs and cutting-edge curricula, conducting high-quality, high-impact research, supporting innovation, embracing innovative pedagogies, utilising hybrid modes of delivery, and providing a supportive learning and quality living environment for our students,” he said. 

“We are currently reaping the rewards of the renewal programme, and there is stability within the university. No student unrest has occurred in the last three years.  There is an explosion of student success both in and out of the classroom. Students are performing academically while also excelling in sports. Within a period of two years, our men’s and women’s rugby teams have lifted the Varsity Shield. New graduates are securing positions across the globe,” he said.

“Our mandate will be to ensure that the institution reclaims its place as a leading African university, with a continental, national and provincial focus, geared towards addressing contemporary challenges. We plan to continue to produce leaders who impact the trajectory of history. This was the role that the University of Fort Hare played in the past; this is the role it must continue to play now and in the future,” Prof Buhlungu concluded.