The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Blade Nzimande, is expected to undertake a walkabout at the University of Mpumalanga and will address the South African Union of Students (SAUS) National General Council meeting today at the Mbombela campus.
The minister will be joined by Professor Thoko Mayekiso and the leadership of SAUS.
With confidence, the department said the university is one of their post-apartheid South Africa university’s which the government launched in 2013.
"The launch of this university was a significant milestone in the government's programme to significantly increase access to higher education," it said.
According to the higher education department, the university currently has a student population of 7118, of which 61.5% are female, and 38.5% are male. The university provides 48 different qualifications.
"Before the establishment of this university, Mpumalanga province was one of only two provinces in South Africa without a university in its territory. One of the other provinces was the Northern Cape, where the government established Sol Plaatje University," it added.
Yesterday, the minister addressed the 2022 launch of the first World Science Forum (WSF) to be hosted in Africa. The department hosted the discussion panel on WSF at Iziko Museum in Cape Town under the theme: Science for Social Justice.
The forum will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on December 6 to 9 to discuss challenges facing science in the 21st century.
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
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