UKZN’s 2020 Parents’ Day on its five campuses was a resounding success. This annual event is a platform for University staff to engage with parents and share useful information pertaining to the support that will be given to their children during their stay at UKZN. Parents are also informed about various scholarship packages and funding options.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Humanities, Professor Nhlanhla Mkhize said, ‘Degrees in the Humanities, Education and Social and Applied Sciences that are offered in this College remain relevant in the 21st century and in the age of automation and the fourth industrial revolution. The Humanities are predicted to give students robust human, social and cultural skills that are not easily replaceable, at least in the short to medium term, by machine learning.’
Funding, registration and housing were some of the key areas discussed at this year’s College of Law and Management Studies Parents’ Day. The College welcomed hundreds of parents who were keen to know how their children will be supported during their studies at UKZN.
The Dean and Heads of Schools informed parents about academic delivery and support available to students. University management assured parents of UKZN’s commitment to teaching and learning despite the challenges facing Higher Education, while representatives from Student Funding and Housing addressed queries in relation to financial and accommodation issues.
‘One of the College of Health Science’s core drivers is excellence and as such, first-year students will be exposed to innovative teaching and learning methodologies and novel research studies that will adequately capacitate them with the skills required in their respective professions,’ said Professor Busisiwe Ncama, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Head of College.
‘This is enabled through a newly transformed curriculum focusing on primary healthcare in decentralised clinical training sites across the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Part of the planning of this programmes includes a joint partnership with the provincial Department of Health and an overall investment by the College of R77 million in the refurbishment of new residences in the hospital sites, Wi-Fi connectivity, leasing and purchasing of transport, employment of staff, new clinical skills laboratories and building new lecture venues.’
Among parents and eager first-year students at the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science Parents’ Day on the Howard College campus were Ricky and Pam Narainsamy with their son, Kiran, who registered for a degree in Computer Engineering following a 97% result for Information Technology in matric, and due to his passion for the field of Artificial Intelligence. The Narainsamys chose UKZN because of its excellent reputation for Engineering studies as well as its proximity to their home in Tongaat.
Dean of the School of Engineering, Professor Glen Bright, assured the new cohort of parents that their children were in good hands and would receive the best education possible as UKZN’s School of Engineering is currently ranked number one in South Africa.
Science students on the Pietermaritzburg and Westville campuses received an equally warm welcome.
Words: Ndabaonline
Photographs: Sethu Dlamini and Rajesh Jantilal
