Friday, 27 March

11:40

A fifth positive case of COVID-19 has been confirmed in the University of Cape Town (UCT) community. Unlike the previous four cases, this case was confirmed in KwaZulu-Natal. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health confirmed the case through the prescribed protocol and is caring for the student and conducting contact tracing.

Read the VC’s Desk.

10:25

The declaration of a national lockdown has once again required changes to planning for teaching and learning at UCT. Public universities have agreed to reopen academic activities on 20 April.

Learning Online Orientation for UCT students will run from 20 to 24 April to ensure that as many students as possible are ready to start learning. The first week of teaching will start on 27 April.

An SMS survey of technological and environmental readiness among our students will be run to ascertain their various needs, and UCT will be distributing laptops after 17 April to identified undergraduate students.

Some students will require additional face-to-face learning when they return to campus, and UCT will make available extra resources to cope with the extra demand.

The Centre for Higher Education Development is supporting staff to help them refashion their courses to a different mode of teaching. We are also developing an appropriate framework for assessment and quality assurance.

Read the full DVC’s Desk.