Katleho Lechoo
Nominee's Province:
Free State
Age:
28
Project Name/Description:
Administrator: Student Governance and Development – University of Fort Hare (UFH)
Katleho Lechoo lives and breathes student leadership and development. Initiated into the dynamic world of student activism when he arrived at the University of the Free State (UFS) in 2015, Lechoo rose through the ranks until he was elected to the Student Representative Council (SRC), first as a sports officer and later institutional SRC president, leading students across the three campuses of the UFS.   Lechoo's current role as a student governance and development administrator entails providing holistic support and coordination of all student governance formations in the university, including but not limited to the SRC, societies and organisations and faculty councils.   Before moving to Fort Hare, he was employed as a football administrator at the UFS. Through this position, he also became the youngest chairperson of the Institutional Forum in the university's history and was also elected national chairperson of University Sports South Africa for football. Post-94, the higher education sector has been among the democratic government’s priority areas for social transformation and development. As one of the key players in the space, Lechoo acknowledges the progress made through funding opportunities and other transformative interventions. "However," he says, "it goes without saying that more still needs to be done and soon, or else we will be preparing for a total collapse."  Lechoo continues that it's important to address poor leadership at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, lack of funding for deserving students, criminal activities on campuses and financial mismanagement. 
