Transforming Higher Education in South Africa: A New Approach to Governance

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-16
Author(s):  
Teboho Moja ◽  
Nico Cloete
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Historically White ◽  
New Approach ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Resource Needs ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Black Institutions ◽  
Historically White Institutions

A recent review of South African universities concluded that higher education institutions have “in place considerable facilities and a substantial capacity to respond to the reshaping of post-apartheid education. However, in general the historically white institutions (and a number of black institutions) have little moral and political legitimacy. In contrast, the majority of black institutions (and a few white institutions) have little or no academic credibility. Overall, the ‘system’ is seen as one that perpetuates inequality, is hugely wasteful and is not serving the human resource needs of the country. These problems have led to numerous demands for reforms in order to redress inequalities, and to ensure greater relevance, accountability and democracy.”

Transforming Higher Education in South Africa: A New Approach to Governance

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teboho Moja ◽  
Nico Cloete
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Historically White ◽  
New Approach ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Resource Needs ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
Black Institutions ◽  
Historically White Institutions

A recent review of South African universities concluded that higher education institutions have “in place considerable facilities and a substantial capacity to respond to the reshaping of post-apartheid education. However, in general the historically white institutions (and a number of black institutions) have little moral and political legitimacy. In contrast, the majority of black institutions (and a few white institutions) have little or no academic credibility. Overall, the ‘system’ is seen as one that perpetuates inequality, is hugely wasteful and is not serving the human resource needs of the country. These problems have led to numerous demands for reforms in order to redress inequalities, and to ensure greater relevance, accountability and democracy.”

scholarly journals Studying Black Student Life on Campus: Toward a Theory of Black Placemaking in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
pp. 004208592097135
Author(s):  
Antar A. Tichavakunda
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Black Student ◽  
Student Life ◽  
Historically White ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Black Residents ◽  
Urban Contexts ◽  
Historically White Institutions

This essay outlines how Black placemaking, a sociological framework used to study Black residents in urban contexts, might be used to study Black students’ experiences at historically White institutions (HWIs) of higher education. Black placemaking engages with the intersection of Blackness, place, structure, and agency. The author argues that this framework has the potential to more expansively study Black students’ lives, experiences, and mechanisms of engagement without discounting realities of oppression. Drawing from research on Black students attending HWIs and data from an ethnography conducted by the author, this essay conceptualizes a Black placemaking approach for higher education.

A Critical Race Analysis of University Acts of Racial “Redress”: The Limited Potential of Racial Symbols

2020 ◽  
pp. 089590482098303
Author(s):  
Antar A. Tichavakunda
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
Historically White ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
Student Demands ◽  
Historically White Institutions ◽  
Race Analysis

More historically White institutions of higher education are compelled to respond, in some way, to increased activism and awareness of continued legacies of racism and racial crises on campuses. The author suggests that how schools wrestle with their legacies of racism and/or respond to student demands to right racial wrongs on campus might be considered university acts of racial redress. Through a Critical Race Theory inspired chronicle, the author argues that seemingly positive university acts of racial redress such as policies, place un/naming, or public statements are, in fact, Racial Symbols that do little to change the material realities of racially marginalized people on campus.

scholarly journals Wheelchair users, access and exclusion in South African higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desire Chiwandire ◽  
Louise Vincent
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
South African ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Wheelchair Users ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
The Right

Background: South Africa’s Constitution guarantees everyone, including persons with disabilities, the right to education. A variety of laws are in place obliging higher education institutions to provide appropriate physical access to education sites for all. In practice, however, many buildings remain inaccessible to people with physical disabilities.Objectives: To describe what measures South African universities are taking to make their built environments more accessible to students with diverse types of disabilities, and to assess the adequacy of such measures.Method: We conducted semi-structured in-depth face-to-face interviews with disability unit staff members (DUSMs) based at 10 different public universities in South Africa.Results: Challenges with promoting higher education accessibility for wheelchair users include the preservation and heritage justification for failing to modify older buildings, ad hoc approaches to creating accessible environments and failure to address access to toilets, libraries and transport facilities for wheelchair users.Conclusion: South African universities are still not places where all students are equally able to integrate socially. DUSMs know what ought to be done to make campuses more accessible and welcoming to students with disabilities and should be empowered to play a leading role in sensitising non-disabled members of universities, to create greater awareness of, and appreciation for, the multiple ways in which wheelchair user students continue to be excluded from full participation in university life. South African universities need to adopt a systemic approach to inclusion, which fosters an understanding of inclusion as a fundamental right rather than as a luxury.

Breaking white silences in South African-Dutch collaboration in higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frans Kamsteeg ◽  
Harry Wels
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
South African Society ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
South African Higher Education

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show the complex positionality and the complexity that comes with the study of whiteness in South African higher education by Dutch, white academics. This complexity stems from the long-standing relationship between Dutch universities, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA) in particular, with their South African counterparts, which predominantly supported apartheid with reference to a shared religious (Protestant) background. Design/methodology/approach The paper rests upon a literature review of the development of South African higher education, and an assessment of the prominent role played by the Dutch Vrije Universiteit in support of the all-white, Afrikaans Potchefstroom University (presently North-West University). The authors, who are both involved in the institutional cooperation between Vrije Universiteit and South African universities, reflect on the complexity of this relationship by providing auto-ethnographic evidence from their own (religious) biography. Findings The paper reflects the ambiguous historical as well as contemporary contexts and ties that bind Vrije Universiteit to South African universities, especially formerly Afrikaans-speaking ones. The ambiguity is about the comfort of sharing an identity with formerly Afrikaans-speaking universities, on the one hand, and the discomfort of historical and political complicities in a (still) segregated South African society on the other hand. Originality/value This auto-ethnographic paper breathes an atmosphere of a “coming out” that is not very common in academic writing. It is a reflection and testimony of a lifelong immersion in VUA-South African academic research relations in which historical, institutional, and personal contexts intermingle and lead to a unique positionality leading to “breaking silences” around these complex relations.

scholarly journals South African universities in a time of increasing disruption

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Coetzee ◽  
Brownhilder Neneh ◽  
Karlien Stemmet ◽  
Jana Lamprecht ◽  
Constance Motsitsi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Online Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
African Students ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
South African Universities ◽  
The Impact

Background: The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have disrupted the higher education environment in unprecedented ways.Aim: This article identifies the impact of increasing disruption driven by the 4IR and COVID-19 on the content and curriculum design of degree programmes in economic and management sciences offered by South African universities.Setting: Six South African and five top-tier US and UK universities.Methods: The study used a non-positivist qualitative research design and specifically the case-study approach. A document analysis of the information in university yearbooks and prospectuses was conducted, using a purposive sampling design.Results: An online presence will become more important due to increased disruption, and will not only ensure an additional revenue stream, but also promote continuity in operations and mitigate threats from competitors. COVID-19 has accelerated the extent of this disruption and expedited the migration to online teaching and learning platforms.Conclusion: Since science, technology, engineering and mathematics are integral to the majority of 4IR-related modules, South African universities must not shy away from degree programmes that ignore inter- and multi-disciplinary curriculum designs. Coupled with the challenges facing the majority of South African students to access electronic devices, data and the internet, COVID-19 has thrust this challenge to the forefront in the South African higher education landscape. By comparing the developments in South African universities with those in trendsetting, top-tier, global universities, management can assess the extent to which they are internationally competitive and adapting to the demands of the 4IR.

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