Most international students are not aware of the various representation societies, bodies, and persons within the university that ensure that their rights, interests, and sense of belonging are fully protected. PDBY interviewed Neville Mupita, the SRC International and Postgraduate Officer for 2022, on issues relating to international students as well as his vision for his term in office.
If you were to meet a first-year student and they asked you about your SRC office. What would you tell them?
My office ensures that the needs of Postgraduate and International students are catered for. This includes liaising with the Postgraduate Office and International Students Division to make sure no student is left behind in all aspects of their student life.
What international student issues do you aim to address?
My major project this year is representation. We as International students face diverse situations, our problems are not the same and if they are, how they affect us is pretty much different. We need to have adequate international student representation on our campuses. When we have these representatives in place then it’s easy to tackle issues of allocation of residences, visa application problems – just to mention a few.
What does representation mean to you?
To me, representation means being the voice of a group of people, not because they cannot speak or act on their own, but because they believe in you and they trust [that you] have their best interest at heart. It is more to do with being able to relay information from the community that you serve, in this case, the international student community to the relevant departments. I believe representation is vital as it increases recognition and it amplifies the voices and the stories of individuals in a group.
What initiatives do you plan on carrying out for international students?
There is a lot planned for this year, and these initiatives are mostly aimed at making international students feel at home, and have that sense of belonging because this is our new home for the duration of our studies. These initiatives are not limited to events, and programs. The one I am more excited about is the mentoring program that caters for first-year international students to be paired with mentors/senior students from their countries of origin – to help them assimilate and guide them in this new environment. This is because the sudden shift in environments hugely affects international students – [knowing] someone who went through a [similar] process. Being able to help them out goes a long way both mentally and academically.
What is your vision for 2022?
My vision for 2022 is to give students the representation they deserve, to help them through this chapter of their academic journey.
Apart from the office of SRC, international students can also rely on other international students societies in the UP community. These societies include The Umbrella Society, Nigerian Students Society, La Francophone Société, Community of Indians at Tuks and The Zimbabwe Students Society. For students that would like to join these societies, the university will open a period at which students can join various societies of their choice. Students can reach out to the SRC International and Postgraduate officer, Mupita at src.postgrad@tuks. co.za for further information relating to international students.
Check out the social media handles and contact information of various international student organisations —> International students
