Enhancing the Resilience and Student Engagement of Tutors and Students through a Tutorial Programme

Abstract

The Qwaqwa (QQ) campus is situated in Phuthaditjaba, which is merged between KwaZulu-Natal and the eastern Free State. Although normally known as a rural economic hub (instead of an urban centre), its scattering of small residential buildings across mountainous areas and its growing inclusion of both rural and urban organisation, culture, and economy instead characterises it as a “ruralopolis” (Membretti et al., 2020:2) (or rural-urban, rural-urban fringe or peri-urban space). This town faces various social, political, and environmental challenges, leading to unemployment, poverty, water shortages, and electricity shortages, which impact how the QQ campus needs to be structured to support and serve its students and staff members. Alignment in terms of its academic offering and programme with its urban counterpart becomes a significant challenge, and contextualisation becomes key in ensuring continued academic success.