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The University of the North (Turfloop) produced a number of militant BCM activists, including Onkgopotse Tiro, Harry Nengwekhulu and Pandelani Nefolovhodwe. Student activism at Turfloop in the 1970s spread through villages of the Northern Transvaal and self-help projects were introduced in nearby villages. Former students of Turfloop include Cyril Ramophosa, who later became the secretary general and deputy president of the ANC respectively. In March 1972, the University of the North (Turfloop) administration ordered that the SASO Manifesto and Declaration of Student Rights be removed from the diary distributed by the Turfloop SRC. 13 In response, students proceeded to burn their diaries in a public show of protest. The current University of Limpopo was established in 1959 as the University College of the North under the trusteeship of the University of South Africa. This was during apartheid when the policy of separate ethnically based institutions was in force. The university was established under University Education Act of 1959, which made provision for the the trusteeship of the University of South Africa. This was during apartheid when the policy of separate ethnically based institutions was in force. The university was established under University Education Act of 1959, which made provision for the establishment of racially exclusive universities for black South Africans (Meinert & Kapferer 2015; Maja et al., 2006). In 1970 the University College started operating independently as the University of the North, which remained its name until its merger with the Medical University of South Africa in 2005. The institution was located on a farm called Turfloop in a rural township, 30km east of the provincial Polokwane (formerly known as Pietersburg). The naming of the township as Sovenga was drawn from the three main ethnic groups of the area- Sotho, Venda and Tsonga and served to emphasize the ethnic basis of the institution (Meinert & Kapferer 2015). The University is in the foothills of the Hwiti (Wolkberg range) in Mankweng, midway between Polokwane and Magoebaskloof. It has been conventionally agreed that the University of Limpopo is the second largest black University in South Africa, and bears testimony of history of student activism. In addition, the University has a history of the establishment of racially exclusive universities for black South Africans, and is associated with people who have been influential in the history of South Africa such as Steve Biko, Cyril Ramaphosa, Tito Mboweni, Pansy Tlakula, Bernad Ngoepe, Abram Onkgoptse Tiro, Frank Chikane, Michael Masutha, Matthews Phosa and Angie Motshekga, etc.
Record Administration
Location
Location
- Capricorn
- Polokwane
South Africa
Humanities, Science and Agriculture, Management and Law. All typical university facilities and services.