Bisina Somto, PBA Journalism Mentee
Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa, on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, shared a heartfelt video of her visit to her students preparing for exams.
The video was posted on her official Linkedin profile, showing her stopping by each student’s seat to offer words of encouragement and a bar of chocolate.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPhakeng’s caption read, “I went back to campus study spaces at around 11pm last night to give my students chocolates and words of encouragement as they prepare for their final exams. As usual, I was encouraged to find them hard at work”
“The university journey is not easy, much support and constant motivation is needed to push through! I am a mother before I am VC, so I will be there to give them the motivation they need to soldier on”
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This act was not the first time, as Phakeng had on Sunday, 13th November 2022, visited the school’s library, for the same purpose.
“We’re right at the end of the exam season, so I went to the library at 10 pm last night and was encouraged to see my students hard at work so I gave them chocolates to eat when they take a break. I didn’t expect to find so many students in the library on a Sunday night, so I ran out of chocolates” She said.
Phakeng was first the Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town in 2016, before she was appointed the school’s Vice Chancellor in 2018.
Phakeng’s tenure as vice-chancellor of UCT has been controversial with accusations by university academics and the university’s ombud, that she allowed for the emergence of a culture of fear, secrecy, racialisation, unfair treatment and bullying within the university, which allegedly resulted in exit of numerous academics.
The ombud and the university’s former deputy council chair have accused Phakeng of covering up accusations and findings against her while the university’s former deputy vice-chancellor for teaching and learning has accused her of having deliberately misled the university’s Senate.
Below, is the link to the Viral Video
