Wits accounting students pass with flying colours at the first annual chartered accountancy qualifying exams.
Graduates of the Wits School of Accountancy, who sat for the January 2023 Initial Test of Competency (ITC) exam achieved a 97% pass towards being chartered accountants.
Of the 3 021 candidates who sat for the exam, the Wits School of Accountancy was represented by 248 candidates and a whopping 240 of them passed.
The ITC is the first of two qualifying exams for the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) – a regulatory body for all chartered accountants in the country. The second qualifying exam is the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC), candidates must pass the ITC before qualifying for the APC.
Although Wits came fourth behind the University of Pretoria (first), North-West University (second), and the University of Stellenbosch (third), the school managed to produce the second highest pass by full time African students at 96%.
In addition, Muhammad Sharaafat Moosajee, Lenn Maja and Riyadh Lakhi from stood out with Honour’s passes – a total mark 75% or more -in the exam. With Moosajee coming joint fifth in the overall candidate’s results rankings.
The head of the school, professor Nirupa Padia (60) told Wits Vuvuzela, “when I started as head [in 2013], [Wits’ pass in the ITC] had been about upper 80s, lower 90s. It wasn’t this high, and it didn’t have [this many] transformation [African] students.” She attributed the stellar results to the school’s teaching approach in the second semester of last year, where they managed to get students back on campus.
An information graphic from the Wits school of accountancy found inside FNB Commerce Building on West Campus, tracking the school’s progress since Professor Nirupa Padia’s appointments as head in 2013 until last year in 2022. Photo: Otsile Swaratlhe
Lenn Maja (22) who is currently an academic trainee at the school, said that he had mixed feelings when the results came out. “I could not be excited because I had to focus on my master’s [degree in commerce],” he said. However, he added that the pass came as no surprise to him, “the moment I got my results for postgraduate diploma, I knew I was ready.”
He attested to Wits’ participation in his preparation and said that they showed him and his 2022 group great support. “Consultations, tutorials and ITC past paper were all provided by the school,” he said. Maja was full of praises for the school as he closed off by saying, “When Wits says you are ready to wite ITC, you are ready to write ITC”.
ITC exams are written twice a year, in January and in June. With Wits having performed this well in January, we are all looking forward to seeing their performance in the June exams.
FEATURED IMAGE: A third-year Wits school of accountancy student compiling their lecture notes, shortly after collecting them from the school. Photo: Otsile Swaratlhe
Newly elected chairperson of the school of arts student council, Obett Motaung, explains what the council hopes to achieve in 2014. Photo: Zelmarie Goosen
WITS School of Art students have expressed their discontent over the choices of degrees offered by the school.
At a meeting held at the Wits Art Museum on Tuesday, a number of the students said there was gap between the practical and theoretical components of their coursework. This was especially true for second-year students who must choose between theoretical or practical courses.
One student at the meeting said this was a problem because many students entering their second year did not know whether they wanted to pursue theoretical or practical coursework. The problem continued into third year, which the student complained had little connection to the previous year’s coursework.
Students must get more involved
The meeting for arts students was held to elect a new student council and discuss issues and concerns with their programme.
“As the student council going forward, we must really work on influencing policy-making in terms of everything – in terms of spacing, in terms of practicalities, before the university makes decisions to shut down theatres … they must find out first what is happening with the students,” said newly elected council chairperson Obett Motaung.
The students criticised what they said was a lack of visibility for events related to the arts and engagement with the Faculty of Humanities.
The arts students also loudly criticised a lack of social interaction within their school. “FUCT Fridays”, an arts initiative to raise funds for projects, used to be held on the rooftop of the school’s building. “But that’s just disappeared,” one student complained. “There are no fundraisers, nothing that’s happening and I think there we see that there is a gap that we might as well try and fill.”
2014/15 Wits School of Arts Student Council
Obett Motaung, chairperson
Lucky Mqobeli, vice- chairperson
Masechaba Phakela, secretary general
Bonnie Maphutse, deputy secretary general
Jessica Janse van Rensburg, treasurer general
Jòvan Muthray, projects and campaigns officer
Sarah Nansubuga, academic and transformation officer
The school organized new workshops on codes of conduct after the sexual harassment drama of 2013. But the schools efforts are baring little fruit.
After last year’s revelations of improper sexual conduct by senior lecturer Tsepo wa Mamatu, which lead to a commission of inquiry and ultimately the dismissal of wa Mamatu and other offenders, WSOA embarked on the process of drafting an “ethical practices in teaching and learning” handbook.
Catherine Duncan of WSOA told Wits Vuvuzela that the school needed to revisit a number of principles, values and responsibilities “from scratch” if the school was to be a “constructive and open environment for teaching, learning, and making art”. However, notices inviting arts students to participate in the workshops on one of three days, by signing their names up on a register provided under a description of the handbook, stood mostly empty.
They could be seen in and around the vicinity of the pale brown WSOA building- on the doors of classrooms and performance venues, as well as on notice boards and inside elevators. [pullquote align=”right”] “Doors? No one looks at doors. Why did they put them there?”[/pullquote]
Two weeks on, after the proposed dates of the workshop, those participation registers remain in position with a hardly a name on them.
Chairperson of WSOA’s school council Obett Motaung, 3rd year BADA, confirmed the poor attendance of the workshops.
“There were about 30-odd students who attended (workshops). You see we are facing an issue of student apathy,” Motaung said. Duncan admitted many had not engaged in the project. “That is also fine and their prerogative,” Duncan said.
Both Duncan and Motaung were eager to stress that the workshops were only one part of larger information gathering process that started in July last and would continue beyond this month’s workshops.
“We gathered all the relevant policy, codes of conduct, standing orders, findings of the investigation into sexual harassment at Wits last year, course guides and so on,” Duncan said.
She said key data from the research went into the student workshops for “development, consultation and feedback”.
CONFUSED: Hankysel Lee is one of the many students who did not know about the workshop. Photo: Mfuneko Toyana
It would also seem that there was poor publicity around the workshops. The majority of the WSOA students interviewed by Wits Vuvuzela were either unaware of the workshops or just did not care to be involved in the process.
Moshini Pillay, 2nd year Fine Arts, said putting the notices on doors was not a good idea and this was the main reason she had not attended. “Doors? No one looks at doors. Why did they put them there?” Hankysel Lee, 3rd year agreed that the visibility of the posters was ineffective.
She said she “just didn’t see the notices,” and that she might have attended if she had.
Shubham Mehta, 4th year film and TV, said he preferred not to participate in “extracurricular activity” outside of his studies and that he saw no benefit in participating in the workshops.
A draft of the handbook will be completed by end of term according to Duncan.
The People to People International Documentary Conference was held at the Wits theatre from last Sunday and ended this Wednesday.
Jeppe on a Friday Director Arya Lalloo talks to Wits Vuvuzela about the film festival
People to People
In 2007, People to People was inaugurated by the Encounters and Tri-continental film festivals, the two leading documentary festivals in the country as they believed the number of films about Africa or the developing world being made by filmmakers from these communities, were not enough.
Conference organiser and Director of the highly acclaimed independent film Jeppe on a Friday, Arya Lalloo said the conference was about filmmakers coming together to share the tensions involved in documentary production.
“Issues around representation, access and ethics are some of the topics that are discussed at People to People. We are dealing with very resource deprived filmmaking communities, it is about building collegial bonds between the continent’s documentary filmmakers,” Lalloo said.
The conference was created as a space to develop the voices with a broader south focus but particularly with a Pan African focus.
Advice for Witsies and aspirant documentary film makers
Lalloo commented that student apathy upsets her, “you should be using time best time in your life to define yourself to expose yourself”.
Lalloo said that there are many options available for students.
“It’s not going to suddenly come to you in a dream. It starts with understanding that there are options available to you.”
Today we’re taking a look at the #WitsShutdown protests which are over historical debt and unaffordable accommodation, which have seen several students suspended, physical clashes between protestors and security and disruptions to the academic programme for many. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing, we let students unpack their views on what has […]
