Exchange programme empowers students
Five TUT students will get to spend two weeks in the Netherlands later this year as part of a student exchange programme.
Five lucky Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) students will get to spend two weeks in the Netherlands later this year as part of a student exchange programme between TUT and a Dutch university.
It will reportedly be the first time that any of the students have travelled abroad. During their stay, the students will teach at Dutch schools.
In turn, Windesheim students get to visit South Africa annually; not only to experience the culture but also to teach at rural schools in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, according to TUT spokesperson Willa de Ruyter.
De Ruyter said these experiences were “life-changing”.
The education exchange programme between TUT and the Windesheim University is held annually.
Tomas van der Heide (18), a Windesheim student who had just completed the programme, said South Africa’s way of teaching was very different to what he had imagined.
Van der Heide said he was shocked when he walked into an 80-learner class, “but I was touched by their eagerness to learn”.
The 12 Dutch students that were part of this year’s programme recently returned home.
The five TUT students would travel to the Netherlands in September.
They are: Abigail Hlatshwayo (27), Zoleka Twala (21), Gilbert Mangwale (23), Sharon Maelane (23) and Sibongile Mpinga (23).
De Ruyter said the programme was driven by two lecturers, namely Dr Laura Coetzer (of TUT) and Teresa Pedro Gomes (Windesheim).
They have “an inextinguishable passion for education, especially honing the new generation of teachers,” according to De Ruyter.
Ninety-two Dutch and 32 TUT students have benefited from the exchange programme since its inception.
TUT Soshanguve interim rector professor Elsabe Coetzee said there was a hunger among the poorest of the poor for education.
She said the exchange programme had a significant impact on the standard of education graduates.
“Students who have participated in the exchange programme are the ones who will change schools one day.”
Windesheim, in Zwolle, is one of the top universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. It is known for its personal approach and working closely with business and public institutes.
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