The campuses of the University of South Africa (Unisa) will undergo a R600-million revamp in the next five years, principal Barney Pityana announced on Wednesday.
”The student profile of Unisa is changing and we have seen an increase in the number of younger people choosing to study full-time by long distance,” he said.
He dismissed as ”misleading and damaging” a report that the university posted a R356-million loss over the past year. It had actually shown a positive balance of R293-million, said finance and estates vice-principal, Gerhard Cronje.
It would be disinvesting in certain of its property holdings to concentrate on the development, he said.
Although Unisa was able to finance the revamp on its own, the public distance education institution had entered into partnership with the Tshwane city council and was seeking private sector involvement — in the country’s best interests, said the executive director of finance Nkuli Swana.
Pityana said the university had already started extending its countrywide network of learning centres with a new facility in Newtown in the Johannesburg CBD, another under construction in Pietermaritzburg and the extension of those in Cape Town and Durban.
It had upgraded its call centre and was exploring ways of using computer and cellphone technology.
”We have been considering the use of technology for registrations, so that students don’t have to register on campus and queue like it’s voting day on April 27.”
He said the university’s agriculture and environmental science departments were to be moved from the Pretoria campus to a campus in Florida, Roodepoort, where new laboratories would be built.
The Sunnyside campus would be getting a sport and recreation facility for staff, additional student registration centres and a student hub — scheduled for occupation next May.
Also on the cards was an R87-million new entrance to the main campus in Pretoria, featuring reception areas, security areas, student registration facilities, and conference and meeting rooms.
It was the first major development on the campus since 1988, said Pityana. – Sapa