Staff walk tall as they receive degrees
- Wits University
Wits employees run their own race to graduate and one earns a fifth qualification.
The autumn graduation season, which began on 21 April, saw a number of professional and administrative staff (PAS) assert their place in the home of academic excellence when they ascended the stage as graduates.
On 24 April, Cynthia Sibisi, a Venues Allocation Officer at the University added a BA degree with triple majors in Politics, International Relations and Linguistics to her achievements. Sibisi, who works in the Property and Infrastructure Management Division (PIMD) was elated as she became a bona fide Wits alumna. The pursuit of knowledge bug has bitten and Sibisi is now pursuing her Honours degree in African Linguistics.
Curiosity and opportunity
A Data Administrator in the Student Enrolment Centre, Meriam Ratau, was busy capturing data for an application from a prospective student when she spotted an unfamiliar code. This new code piqued her interest, and she immediately went to her manager to verify the existence of such an academic programme. It turned out that the School of Education had introduced a new course called the Advanced Diploma in Technical and Vocational Teaching. Ratau was fascinated.
In 2021, she became part of the first cohort registered for this programme and began a two-year journey that led to new relationships and friendships with lecturers who work in another field in the higher education sector.
A degree close to retirement
Morema Tefu, Operations Administrator Assistant in the cleaning division in Services at West Campus, completed a BA majoring in Politics and Human Resources. Tefu, who retires in 2025, says he was initially intimidated as his classmates were much younger than him.
“They spoke high English and through the nose,” he jokes. However, with time he gained more confidence when his assignments came back with good results, placing him among the top in his class.
Tefu also had his fair share of challenges when classes moved online and required many hours of self-study. However, this is now history and is glad he completed his studies.
Tefu hopes to use his qualification to contribute to building his community in Limpopo. His BA adds to his Certificate in the Fundamentals of Project Management.
Addicted to education
Kemantha Govender, Communications Manager in the Wits School of Governance, has earned her fifth qualification. She obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from the Wits Business School. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Communications (UCT), BA Honours in Marketing (Wits), an Honours in Journalism (CPUT), and a Diploma in Journalism (DUT).
Her desire to study further is rooted in delivering better services to the School of Governance and strengthening her relationships with professional partners.
“I wanted to understand business better to support the work of our School in terms of attracting more business for our executive programmes,” says Govender.
Reflecting on her academic journey, she adds: “Out of all my qualifications, this was the most challenging. The accounting courses were challenging – I am not a numbers person – and I have never done this much group work. It’s difficult.”
These PAS staff are among hundreds of employees who are undoing perceptions about the interests and abilities of PAS members in space where education is sometimes regarded as the preserve of academics and students.
Wits University encourages its employees across all professional levels to study further. The University covers selected costs of courses and academic programmes at Wits and other institutions as part of its efforts in staff development and training.