/ 6 September 2013

Transformation re-defined

Transformation Re Defined

Is transformation merely to replace white with black, or is it about more than just colour?

I am of the opinion that skin colour is but a small portion of the big “transformation” word.

Transformation is often used as an authoritative word that raises fear in many people and supposed hope for others.

I think some politicians don’t even know what it means. Millions of followers are indoctrinated that it is only a race issue.

Tertiary institutions like the North-West University’s Potchefstroom campus come under fire because the majority of our students are white.

It is, however, a language issue and not supposed to be a race or numbers issue.

Many Afrikaans-speaking people are not white. We are the only university in the country where the language of instruction is primarily Afrikaans, with interpreting services for English-speaking students, particularly in courses that are not presented on other campuses.

This is one of the reasons why the majority of our students are white, but we still attract large numbers of coloured and black students from across the country, who also want to be taught in Afrikaans.

Some students drive past four other universities to study at the NWU Potchefstroom campus.

The former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education merged with the University of North West in Mafikeng in 2004 to form the North-West University, with three campuses: one each in Potchefstroom, Mafikeng and Vanderbijlpark.

It was the national government’s plan, by means of these mergers, to transform tertiary institutions to use their resources more effectively and provide better training.

It was then decided that the Potchefstroom Campus, as one of the three campuses of the NWU, and with due consideration of the North-West University’s multifunctional language policy, would use Afrikaans as the language of instruction in undergraduate courses and that educational interpreting would take place in courses not presented at the other two campuses.

The initiative contrasts with a parallel medium instruction model to the benefit of transformation.

It affords the opportunity for black, white, coloured and Indian students to sit together in one class, rather than being separated by language.

They work together on projects and assignments and at the same time, learn more about each other’s culture. Before long, it happens spontaneously on the campus’ lawns.

To sit in a lily white or pitch black class is not transformation. To see, during a sports meeting, a pavilion full of black students and on the other side a handful of white students having a braai under the trees, is not transformation.

This phenomenon occurs at some universities that believe they are already fully transformed. Their numbers may look right, but is there actual integration between students of different races?

There is still a lot of work to be done regarding transformation, not only at the NWU-Potchefstroom Campus, but country-wide.

If one looks at the actual integration between students and at the respect and care for each other without necessarily being obsessed by numbers, a success story is busy happening at the NWU-Potchefstroom Campus.

It is sad and unacceptable that instances of racism still occur on all campuses, even worldwide, but recognition must also be given that it is a minority who are guilty of this.

Unfortunately there are always individuals who have an opinion or action against another race, religion, sexual orientation, and the like.

It is here where transformation must be urgently applied. The majority of citizens are convinced that we live in a new South Africa and that we must have respect for each other. Many students have positive stories to tell about this.

This year’s first-year students were born in 1994 and are known colloquially as the “born-frees”. It is heartening that many students from this generation do not carry any apartheid baggage.

We all know the saying that to “know where you are going, you must know where you come from”, but we must take care that we do not hold on to the past in such a way that we lose perspective on the future.

It is the responsibility of those that drive transformation to cultivate a feeling of security, so that a common feeling of hope and enthusiasm is formed which will lead to a bright future for all.

We try to equip our students, black and white, with the view that every little bit that they contribute will create a more positive future. That is true transformation.

Regarding transformation in the workplace, the campus sets itself strict goals.

For example, Professor Rantoe Letsosa has just been appointed the first black vice-rector, Teaching-Learning designate of the campus.

We appoint many black staff, but struggle to retain them — university salaries are not always competitive with the private sector.

There are of course many opportunities in the private sector as a result of black economic empowerment, which means that when these staff members start to excel, they are quickly grabbed by other sectors.

To address this, the campus launched a “Grow-Your-Own-Timber” project. Black students who perform well academically are identified for bursaries, which are worked back. Because these students are from the campus, their loyalty is stronger, meaning there is a reduced chance of them being lured away.

Eight students have already been taken up in this project. Black lecturers have already proved that they can change negative perceptions, where they may appear, if they are 100% comfortable on campus and have sufficient knowledge in their subject area.

Today’s black students who will lecture in the future will only reinforce this. Another form of transformation is the role that the Student Rag Community Service performs (SRCS) in the area.

This non-profit organisation is driven by students of the NWU-Potchefstroom Campus, and was recently again named the biggest welfare organisation of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

The role that SRCS plays to get students into poor communities and to people who are needy is transformation in itself.

Transforming white students from wealthy homes to render assistance and attention to needy black children and the aged makes them new people.

Similarly, black students’ exposure to this also changes their views: once students get used to a culture of care, they are of inestimable value once they enter the corporate sector. It drives the country’s social responsibility.

Much progress has been made in the residences. Staying in a residence is like a marriage: everyone involved has to make sacrifices so that it is comfortable for all.

The challenge and aim is that everyone should take in and understand the above-mentioned view every year (the student leader corps changes every year).

We have had several instances where white students elected black primaria for residences and also a black captain elected by team members.

I have misgivings about the so-called “transformed universities”.

To say the NWU’s Potchefstroom campus is not transformed just because it has a majority of white students, and that everything is transformed at universities with no or hardly any white students, is unfair.

We have to look at how we make ourselves relevant to the community, how we care and how we plough back.

Is it wrong to give Afrikaans-speaking students one campus in the country where their language and values are cherished, a place that is an asset to South Africa and that makes Afrikaans-speaking people feel that there is still a place for them in this country?

Nelson Mandela had many views on transformation in a South African context. One of them was that no one grouping should dominate or oppress another.

To a degree we are starting to move towards the positive side, but it could be improved.

We are much closer to a transformed country today than we were in 1994, but unfortunately there are still those that want to take us back into the past.

These individuals deprive us of a country where prosperity is effected.

We must stop walking around with baggage. If every person takes his or her fellow human into consideration, we will all live in a better country much quicker.

It is this kind of “heart” equipment that we equip our students with at the NWU-Potchefstroom campus.

Professor Herman van Schalkwyk is rector of the Potchefstroom campus of the North-West University