Since 2018, the University of Fort Hare has offered a speech and language therapy (SLT) degree but it has left students unable to graduate, since the regulatory body is not satisfied with the degree’s credibility.
Health Professions Council of SA’s (HPCSA) speech, language and hearing (SLH) board is tasked with regulating the programme.
The university is adamant, however, that everything is above board with the programme and that students who completed their studies would graduate in May.
The BSc in speech and language therapy, a four-year programme, is the first of its kind for UFH. The first cohort for the programme was supposed to have graduated in 2022.
Head of corporate affairs at HPCSA, Christopher Tsatsawane, said the university needed “to wholly implement the improvement plan to remediate and address to satisfaction the recommendations made by the SLH board”.
“We acknowledge that the honing of a newly launched programme in our faculty of health sciences may have been stressful for students at times, but we are grateful for their understanding, patience and perseverance."
Frustrated students accuse the university of lying to them and gambling with their future.
Ashely Flynn from Buffalo Flats in East London, was supposed to graduate in 2023.
She is the first child in her family to attend university. She said her dream was to improve her life.
“After spending four years at UFH, I am now sitting at home with no qualification.
“This whole experience has torn me apart emotionally and mentally,” she said.
Tsatsawane said the UFH’s SLT programme had been evaluated on site, on June 22 and 23 2021. This was followed by a virtual interview on July 6 2021.
“The UFH’s report on the evaluation of the SLT programme highlighted several challenges noted with concern by the SLH board: staffing, curriculum, assessments, resources, clinical education, quality assurance, governance, student recruitment and final year students [2018 and 2019 cohorts].”
He said, in light of the identified challenges, the SLH board had advised the UFH’s SLT programme on remedial actions to be implemented.
Tsatsawane said the SLH board had made it clear to the UFH that, based on the report of the reviewed SLT programme and the challenges in the review report, it was clear students graduating from this programme would not meet the HPCSA criteria to register as SLTs.
He said in November UFH submitted a progress report regarding the improvement of the programme.
“The board reviewed the submission and found there were still aspects of the improvement plan on which the board needed more clarity — on aspects including, but are not limited to, staffing, curriculum, and governance.
“The six months intensive training programme for the 2018 and 2019 cohorts was rolled out from June 2023 and planned to end on December 15 2023, with examination for the 2018 and 2019 cohorts planned for December 11-15 2023.”
Tsatsawane said the board had reviewed the progress report on the implementation of the improvement plan submitted by the UFH on November 13 2023.
Tsatsawane said the board further resolved not to include the 2020 cohort in the 2023 examination and advised the UFH that the 2020 cohort would not be eligible to register with the board until clarity on the improvement plan was provided.
One of the affected students, Lutho Momoza, was in the first cohort.
“It has been three years now. I’m still unemployed with no hope of getting employment.
“We spent most of 2022 at home writing emails, back and forth about the situation until June 2023 when we had to go back for the intensive programme.
“We couldn’t start working as our professional body HPCSA did not approve the degree and was not happy with the standard and quality of education we were provided by the institution,” Momoza said.
University spokesperson JP Roodt reiterated what he told our sister publication, TimesLIVE in 2022, that the university was in good standing for the programme regarding accreditation and standards, as outlined by the SA Qualifications Authority and HPCSA.
“Bachelor of science in speech & language therapy students stand on the cusp of graduating this year,” he said on Sunday.
He dismissed HPCSA’s claims that the programme lacked proper documentation.
“Accreditation of our programme has always been there and remains in place.
“In line with the requests and recommendations by HPCSA, the university responded with a six-month supplementary support initiative for our students which concluded in December.”
The course of action enjoyed the support and consent of students and their parents or their legal guardians, Roodt said.
“We acknowledge that the honing of a newly launched programme in our faculty of health sciences may have been stressful for students at times, but we are grateful for their understanding, patience and perseverance.
“We remain immensely proud that the programme and our graduates will promote higher levels of accessibility and inclusivity for Xhosa-speaking South African children and adults who for decades have been deprived of communication and speech impairment treatment and therapy by the country’s medical sector.”
Frustrated students rubbished Roodt statement that they had been patient and understanding.
Butabisile Mxaku said: “We will only understand when we have registered with HPCSA and graduated.
“For now we don’t understand anything and we are not patient with them.
“Who in their right mind would spend seven years trying to complete a four-year degree and be patient and understanding while there is uncertainty about their future? These people are taking us for fools.”
Another student, Lorna Ndamase, said: “Even in 2021 we did everything we were supposed to do.”
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