Improved matric results across the country mean a dramatic leap in the numbers of young people who meet the minimum requirements for a Bachelor degree… and Rhodes University says it's ready for them.
Improved matric results across the country mean a dramatic leap in the numbers of young people who meet the minimum requirements for a Bachelor degree… and Rhodes University says it's ready for them.
The university has built three new residences which will be ready for occupation by 30 January – just in time for the influx of new first-year students, who will begin settling in from 5 February.
Funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training, these represent the first phase in a plan for a total of seven new residences. When Minister of Higher Education and Training, Blade Nzimande, announced on Monday that there was a much higher number of matriculants in 2010 who met the minimum requirements for a Bachelor degree, Rhodes was prepared.
"The res experience is very important in the life of a Rhodent," said Iain L'Ange, the university's Director of Residential Operations, and we have met the primary objective of trying to provide residence beds for every first-year student."
There is now bed space for an extra 261 students – 87 in each residence. Two of the buildings will house women students. Once the students have settled in, the wardens will begin the process of gathering suggestions from the students for names for their new home – because the buildings have yet to be named.
The residences have been equipped with a number of systems to conserve resources and enhance convenience for the students. They all have rainwater tanks, and heating pipes were installed instead of boilers, which can reduce electricity usage by 60-80%.
The entrances are equipped with wheelchair ramps and the bathrooms have facilities for disabled people. A motion-sensor system in the corridors and bathrooms is linked to the lights, which are activated only when a person is in the room.
The Kimberly West Dining Hall has also been enlarged and refurbished to accommodate greater student numbers, at a cost of R13 million. “It would have cost R30 million to build a new one. The saving allows us to keep res fee increases lower,” said L'Ange. L'Ange said plans for building the next four residences would depend on student enrolment.
