First year students were told to remain humble and original during the Durban University of Technology’s 2017 First Year General Orientation.

The event was recently hosted by the Department of Student Services and Development at the Indumiso Campus Main Hall as well as at the University’s Steve Biko Campus’s Fred Crookes Sports Centre. Orientation for first year students focuses on addressing students on all areas of university life and to assist in their integration to university culture in an informative yet entertaining manner.

Yolisa Manele, DUT Student Representative Council Secretary, welcomed the students, urging them to remember that being at a tertiary institution is as much a privilege as it was a right. She said as a result, they needed to be aware of how privileged they are to access higher education and must carry themselves as such.

“Many matriculants would have liked to be in your shoes but due to different circumstances, they are not. Being here must not change you so much that you lose respect for your elders and your background. Do not lose yourselves in the midst of everything,” she said.

Manele also said the students should not be shy to approach the SRC whenever they were in need as the student body (SRC) was there to serve them.

Fathima Haffajee, Director of Student Services and Development at the Midlands Campuses, said such programmes also seek to mitigate first year students’ drop-out rates. “Orientation is a very important component of a first year student’s life as it focuses on retention and seeks to prevent attrition. Drop-out rates at South African universities are generally high for first years and activities like orientation address this problem,” she said.

Meanwhile in Durban, the Sports Centre was filled to capacity with jovial students. Both Midlands and Durban campuses worked tirelessly in a bid to assist students feel at home while they are away from their homes.

“Orientation was fun and exciting,” said first-year Catering Management student, Happiness Mkhize. “They gave us lots of prizes. I really enjoyed myself and looking forward to my time at DUT”, she said.

Some of the views students shared about how orientation assisted them:

· They made new friends;
· Got to know of DUT and all the services and extra-curricular activities offered;
· Were excited about learning and being part of the DUT family;
· Felt at home (they now view DUT as their home-away-from home); and
· Felt loved and comfortable.

– Bongani Gema and Sthabile Gwala

Pictured: Yolisa Manele, DUT Student Representative Council Secretary, welcoming students to DUT. Also pictured are ecstatic first year-students at the DUT Fred Crookes Sports Centre.