SRC successfully negotiates for SWOT week to be added to the academic calendar

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The extra week will function like any ordinary SWOT week prior to examinations. Image/Pexels.
The extra week will function like any ordinary SWOT week prior to examinations. Image/Pexels.
The SRC has noted the widespread concern regarding the lack of a 2020 SWOT week. We are aware that a few departments chose not to have their June exams and instead pushed them to the end of the year. As a result, we as students will be writing an excessive amount of exams in one period (far more than we usually would under normal circumstances).

The SRC wrote to the university management, with these pressures in mind, requesting they add an additional week to the calendar. An extra week will allow students to prepare adequately for their exams and would benefit students whether they are writing online or sit-down exams. This extra week will function similarly to SWOT week - with no submissions or additional lectures taking place during this time. As students, we need this time to gather ourselves accordingly and step into exams with the right frame of mind.

In addition to this, the SRC has requested that there be an option for students to defer their examinations to next year, 2021, as was done in 2016 after students had lost academic time due to the protests. This year has been taxing for everyone, and not all students are in the best frame of mind to write so many exams as soon as November.

Allowing students to defer into next year will give students much-needed time to come to review and engage fully with their work. We firmly believe that allowing students these options and giving them the time to apply themselves to their studies will positively affect their academic performance.

The SRC is proud to announce that the university has granted the first request of adding a SWOT week to the calendar. We await communication from the university regarding the option of deferring exams to next year. We trust that all students will use SWOT week to their advantage, and we wish you all the best with the upcoming examinations!

Contact: 

Secretary-General, Shanti Khosa

srcsg@ru.ac.za

046 603 7083

 

Issued: 26 September 2020

 

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