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DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY, PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK
This was a year of numerous transitions, some of which will be detailed below – but it has also been a year of resilience and unity, despite the odds. The Department has been blessed with a core of faculty members who have been extremely reliable and committed to the growth of the group, as well as to the development of the region. During the financial droughts and negative spinoffs, they have been able to help the Head meet the Department’s goal to foster unity and empower junior academics. Without the assistance of these people, the Department would also not have been able to host events such as the summer retreat and Christmas party. The support team (Department Office) was also extraordinarily helpful in ensuring that the main goals of the academic year were achieved. For the past five (5) years the Department has wrestled with a set of recommen- dations from the 2017 quality assurance review (QAR). The former Coordinator of the Sociology Unit (now HOD), led the foundational work to make the pro- grammes of Sociology, Demography, Social Work, Anthropology and HRD more attractive, market-aligned, and distinguished from each other, as well as reduce the many duplications that were highlighted, especially in the area of methods. In the previous academic year there was an attempt to make the bulk of the dramatic changes needed, but this proved to be overwhelming. During the academic year, a new team was created to carry on the work in a phased manner. The decision was taken to write proposals to make changes to three programmes in the new academic year (2023/24): Social Work, Anthropology, and Human Resource Development. It was also decided to suspend the majors in Demography and Social Policy due to unacceptably low enrolment. In the case of Demography, its enrolment had fallen to 10 students in the major across a decade. Students wishing to pursue the postgraduate degree have not been hindered, however, given the fact that only a minor is needed (which remains available). In the case of Social Policy, the enrolment numbers in Sociology simply could not accommodate the number of specializations offered; and similarly, the minor remains available. Incidentally, from 2017, the Department was warned by the QAR that its offers in majors exceeded its enrolment reality, putting too much pressure on staff, as well as putting core courses at risk. The reality is that some of the programmes under the Sociology Unit have been struggling worldwide, including sociology itself. In fact, on occasions it has been referred to as the ‘New Latin’ or ‘New Philosophy’. This drop in demand for sociology has been caused by the fact that other disci- plines in the behavioural and human sciences had managed to borrow so much of sociology that they could afford to steer their students away from doing the discipline as an elected aspect of study. Nonetheless, sociology has been a critical tool to understanding society and its many crises, and the Department has taken steps to preserve its core offerings. There have also been discussions in the school year to re-launch the Centre for Population and Change, which will drive future endeavours in social research.
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