16/05/2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE‼️‼️
FROM: FACULTY COUNCIL & CONCERNED STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE.
TO: UFH COMMUNITY
SUBJECT: REFLECTION ON THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND AGRICULTURE GRADUATION STATISTICS AND THE REALITIES FACED BY STUDENTS
DATE: 16 MAY 2026
THE NUMBERS MAY LOOK IMPRESSIVE, BUT THE REALITY TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY
As the Faculty of Science and Agriculture celebrates the graduation of 744 students for the Class of 2025, we firstly extend our sincere congratulations to every graduate who persevered against all odds and reached this important academic milestone.
The graduation statistics are as follows:
SCIENCE
• 7 PhD Graduates
• 24 Masters Graduates (6 Cum Laude)
• 112 Honours Graduates (11 Cum Laude)
• 276 Bachelor Degree Graduates
• Total Postgraduates: 143
AGRICULTURE
• 5 PhD Graduates
• 38 Masters Graduates (9 Cum Laude)
• 59 Honours Graduates
• 223 Bachelor Degree Graduates
• Total Postgraduates: 102
This brings the faculty total to:
• 744 Graduates overall
• 419 Graduates from Science
• 325 Graduates from Agriculture
• 499 Bachelor Degree Graduates across the faculty
While these numbers deserve recognition and celebration, they also expose a painful and uncomfortable reality that university management and faculty authorities can no longer ignore.
Since 2023, the Faculty of Science and Agriculture has consistently admitted no less than 800 first-year students annually. However, the number of graduates produced remains significantly lower than the number of students admitted. This gap is alarming, concerning, and far from positive.
The institution must stop normalising this crisis.
The blame for this situation must not be shifted onto students. We know very well the conditions under which students are expected to survive and perform academically. Many students are not failing because they are lazy or incapable, they are failing because the academic environment itself has become increasingly hostile to student success.
Poor laboratory conditions continue to negatively affect academic performance. Some laboratories lack basic apparatus and equipment, while others are not maintained at all. Science students cannot be expected to excel practically while learning in deteriorating laboratory environments.
The shortage of academic staff within the faculty has also become a serious crisis. There are too few lecturers to adequately serve the growing student population. Some modules continue without tutors, while existing tutors are often placed under compromising conditions that affect their ability to effectively support students academically.
On the Agriculture side, there are very few farms available for practical training and fieldwork. Practical exposure is the backbone of agricultural education, yet students continuously face barriers in accessing farms for experiential learning. Students repeatedly raise concerns about the lack of transport from campus to farms, which drastically affects productivity, participation, and practical development.
The issue of ANIMAL SCIENCE that was bogusly changed to “Animal Production” had a huge effect on mental and academic wellbeing of students that registered for the qualification yet the faculty has been dismally failing in rectifying the matter for the past four (4) years. Also tagging along modules that are being done in the faculty but being alleged to be not recognised by the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA), these matters really affect students and they are being ignored as if they are not known yet everyone in the authority to question such things is aware of them.
The technological conditions within the faculty are equally unacceptable. Computers and laptops in some laboratories are dysfunctional, yet little to no action is taken to resolve these issues. In an era driven by digital learning and research, denying students functional ICT infrastructure is equivalent to denying them academic opportunity itself.
Beyond faculty-related challenges, the broader campus environment continues to deteriorate.
The shortage of study venues remains a serious problem, and the few venues that are operational close far too early to accommodate students adequately. Students are expected to prepare for demanding academic programmes while lacking safe and accessible study spaces.
The shortage of security personnel further places students at risk. Many students avoid attending study venues after classes because they fear for their safety around campus. No student should have to choose between personal safety and academic success.
Residence conditions are equally concerning. The living environments in many residences are not conducive to learning, dignity, or student wellbeing. Students cannot thrive academically while living under conditions that continuously compromise their physical and mental wellbeing.
The Faculty of Science and Agriculture, together with university management, must urgently and honestly confront these realities. Academic excellence cannot exist where learning conditions are collapsing. Producing graduates should not only be about numbers for annual reports, it should reflect a healthy, functional, and supportive academic environment that gives every student a fair opportunity to succeed.
Students do not fail in isolation.
They fail within systems that have failed them first.
The university must stop celebrating resilience while neglecting the conditions that force students to struggle for survival in the first place.
We therefore call upon faculty leadership and university management to urgently address these matters with seriousness, transparency, and accountability in order to create a healthy academic environment where every student has a genuine opportunity to excel.
Issued by:
Faculty Council , Science and Agriculture
