The Higher Education Aids Project (HEAIDS) complemented CPUT for recovering in a relatively short space of time from a university which was riddled by students’ unrests to the peaceful environment conducive for teaching, learning and innovation that now prevails on the university’s campuses.
This view was expressed by HEAIDS Director, Dr Ramneek Ahluwalia, during a HEAIDS visit to CPUT recently. Accompanied by HEAIDS Project Manager, Alex Semba, Ahluwalia met with Acting Vice-chancellor, Dr Chris Nhlapo, before addressing the HIV Institutional Co-ordinating Committee.
Ahluwalia commended Nhlapo for how he has turned the university around in the last five months. “I met the Vice-chancellor to acknowledge him as well as telling him about our programme and vision,” he told CPUT staffers.
He added that a university’s legacy is that its alumni should live longer and that Dr Nhlapo agreed about the importance of leaving this legacy to the benefit of alumni and society.
“Academia has for a long while ignored issues of gender-based violence, employee wellness and HIV/Aids,” Dr Ahluwalia said.
He added that few universities in the country, including CPUT, have a Gender-Based Violence policy or processes in place to develop a policy. He congratulated CPUT for being one of the institutions in higher education to integrate HIV into its curriculum.
