Eastern Cape Regional SRC fully committed to Unisa’s ethics drive

The Eastern Cape Regional SRC at the training session

Unisa’s Ethics Management Division (EMD), in collaboration with the Department of Student Affairs, held an ethics training session with the Eastern Cape (EC) Regional Student Representative Council (RSRC) on 05 September 2022 at Unisa’s East London Centre. The session took place with the support of the EC Regional Director, Motale Nkgoang, and the EC Ethics Ambassador, Ntsiki.

Ethics Practitioner, Zodidi Pinde, in her opening address outlined the purpose of the training, which was to raise awareness about the Unisa ethics drive with the SRC, to emphasise the importance of ethical and effective leadership in the student representative council and to communicate the ethics plan that will provide guidance to the SRC structure. 

The Deputy Director at EMD, Zibuyile Jafta, gave a presentation on ethics enablers, and engaged with the RSRC on their personal values and shared with them Unisa’s values.  Jafta shared the King IV Report, which was adopted by the University Council and provides guidelines to assist in achieving effective corporate governance as well as an inclusive approach to efficient governance.

The EMD was established to assist Council with achieving the objective of good governance and ethical leadership. Without Council, the Ethics Office, ethics ambassadors, ethics champions, and several other initiatives, the EMD would not be able to assist the university in achieving the objectives set out in the King IV report.

During the training, the EMD team engaged with student leaders to discuss the threats and opportunities with regard to ethics that students face in the region on a daily basis. The students were informed about corrective measures to address these challenges and issues that affect them, as well as fellow students, towards achieving a good student experience at the university. 

Towards the end of the session, the student leaders were given the task to develop a pledge, as the Eastern Cape RSRC, which will reflect their commitment to ethical leadership and values, and guide them in their leadership role. Below is their pledge:

As the Eastern Cape SRC, we are committed to articulate the grievances of the students, unequivocally, and ensure that all centres within the region are prioritised. We will ensure and consent that every student, who enter our centres, gets access to information, as enjoined by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 (chapter 2 of the Bill of Rights stipulates the right to access to information and right to education). We will, at all times, bring into existence creative ideas, to protect the dignity and diversity of students, because we understand that, before they become students, they are part of the regional community. We pledge to understand each and every student, irrespective of where they come from, and we will do our utmost best to assist them with their problems. As students have trusted and mandated us to lead them, we'll endeavour to be innovative and bring change in the region, towards enhancing students’ goal of excellent academic performance. Lastly, we encourage students to soldier on during these turbulent times and the enduring hardship that they are subjected to. Pro Gentibus Sapientia (“In the service of humanity”).

* By Ntsiki Gasa, Communication and Marketing Specialist, Unisa Eastern Cape Region