When the Minister of Higher Learning, Blade Nzimande, paid a visit to the University of Venda, the university population had never in their wildest dreams thought the visit would be such boon, but the visit has helped the university tenfold as the minister promised to improve the university remarkably.

In a speech delivered on campus, Nzimande said he was aware that when the university was founded by the homeland authority, this was in a vision and mission molded by apartheid. He said that with apartheid gone, the new government had to change the face of the university. He said this was because the government had decided to transform the institution into a comprehensive institution that was also aimed at maintaining its focus as a rural university.

“This means that the university has become responsive to the needs of the region,” he said.

The minister had identified the infrastructure of the university as a hindrance and decided to plough in millions to enable the university to improve its enrolment capacity.

The minister has pledged R495 million from the government to embark on a project at the university.

The projects include a new lecture hall, new life sciences and chemistry block, new student administration block, new environmental science building as well as the refurbishment of the library.

Alongside structural development, the minister has also pledged to improve teaching and learning. “Closely linked with this is to make sure that the range of courses and programmes offered by the institution meets the needs of the economy,” he said.

The highlight of the tour was a sod-turning ceremony where a new lecture theatre complex, a new life and chemical sciences building, an extension to the School of Environmental Sciences building, extension to the library, and a new student ad-ministration building are to be built.

Univen vice-chancellor Prof Peter Mbati said the university had many challenges which were prevalent in most of the rural-based universities. He said there were areas which needed special attention, such as the campus health clinic, which is inadequate to cater for the whole student population, student residences which could only cater for a little more than 2 000 students from a population of more than 10 000, no adequate sports and recreational facilities and bad road network that is also not friendly to the disabled on campus.

“We are very humbled by the minister´s visit and this will put us in a position where we can show the minister what we are doing with the money we receive from him,” said Mbati.