08 November 2002
	Taking ownership INNOVATION AND DISCIPLINE WORK HAND IN HAND By Ethel Hazelhurst Rewards play an important role in encouraging responsibility

Four features strike visitors to Cida City Campus, because they are so unusual in tertiary education. The campus is clean. Young men and women are separated in class. Students and staff members dress formally. And students call staff members "Sir". Discipline is important at Cida. "If you want to create unboundedness, you have to create boundaries," says Cida CE Taddy Blecher. "The usual university attitude is we don't care what you do'. A lot of students can't handle that freedom," says Blecher. "Our first-year students are not yet adults and it would be irresponsible not to create structures. They must be shown that their actions have consequences. "You have to say: Here are the rules about how the railway station works. Here is a timetable that tells you when the trains will come. There will be a public announcement that will tell you when there are going to be track changes.' "Allowing students to walk into class when they like or play scrabble during class as a form of creative expression is like ignoring the basic rules of the road. You can't produce leaders in chaos. "At Cida, students have to do their homework. They have to be here on time - we lock the doors by 8:30am. If they don't come to school they have to bring a doctor's note." If they don't comply with Cida rules, students are not allowed to write tests and exams. Further sanctions include a review of bursary funding, a letter to parents and, ultimately, expulsion. "Two students out of more than 1 600 have been expelled since Cida started in January 2000," says Blecher. But reward also plays an important part in maintaining discipline. "We reward students who really do well, who put in an extraordinary ceremony. We have a five-hour prize giving to acknowledge students' achievements. And not just for academic achievement. A student who stayed up all night helping someone who is sick, will get an award," says Blecher. "We call them the length, depth and breadth awards. They go to students who show extraordinary dedication. We build responsibility into the learning process every single day. We tell the students: Go out and do this research. You have to work within this time constraint to solve this problem. You, as a student, have to go out and teach your entire community. You select which new students we are going to take in'. That is a huge responsibility for a young person." Cida is run by a student government. Sello Kgosimore (23) who heads the Student Government Body (SGB) explains: "We have 13 people on the SGB, including the president and treasurer. Responsibilities are divided among ministries." The combination of boundaries, rewards and responsibility has worked well.