Recess arrives, but not for first-year students
As most students are packing up for a short recess next week, first-year students at the North-West University (NWU) will continue with their studies due to the late start of their academic year.
Senior NWU students will have a short break, starting on Monday, 29 March, and lasting until Easter Monday, 5 April. Classes will resume on Tuesday, 6 April.
However, the recess week from Monday, 29 March until Thursday, 1 April, will be used for teaching and learning for first-year students, to ensure that they have enough academic weeks in the semester to make up for their late start. The academic semester for the first years only started on 17 March, as they had to wait for the finalisation of their matric results before registering.
First-year students appear to understand why they need to continue studying during the recess.
Heidi van Tonder (18), a first-year nursing student at the NWU Potchefstroom campus, said: “As a first year, I don’t see the recess as a problem because we just started last week.”
Ivan Reckling (19), a first-year business management student at the NWU Potchefstroom campus, said: “A recess would put us further behind.”
The NWU recently approved the continuation of teaching and learning for first-year students during the recess.
A statement on the NWU website reads: “Both Senate and Council noted during the process of consideration of the framework for the 2021 academic calendar that permutations might be needed in light of the uncertainties at the time around the finalisation of the NSC results. The release of the NSC results on 23 February 2021 would have an impact on the available teaching time for first-year students. Only a nine-week cycle is available during the first semester. In light of the above, Council approved that the autumn recess (29 March to 1 April 2021) be used for teaching-learning of first-year students.”
Although first-year students will not have a recess, they do have the Easter long weekend to look forward to. Friday the 2nd of April and Monday the 5th of April are both public holidays.