Universities have failed to implement the knowledge project and transform
Twenty years into democracy, South Africa needs to take stock of the achievements and failures of the past two decades. One of the critical areas in which such an audit should be undertaken is the transformation of knowledge generation – or what is known as the knowledge project in the higher education sector, in particular at universities.
The notion of transformation in higher education was captured as early as 1997 in the White Paper on Education III, which said: “In South Africa today, the challenge is to redress past inequalities and to transform the higher education system to serve a new social order, to meet pressing needs, and to respond to new realities and opportunities.”
Yet, two decades later, many of South Africa’s universities are reminiscent of the past or, rather, are caught up in the past and appear to consistently defend as well as justify this situation. A handful have successfully transformed in terms of the demographic profiles of the student population, but they remain miles away from transforming the critical area of knowledge generation – that is, the academic staff and the curriculum.
One university has, for example, publicly acknowledged that it has only a single African female professor: it argues that at least 20 years after completion of a doctoral degree are required if one is to be a professor. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to see through the fallacious nature of such an argument.
This argument emanates from vice-chancellors of top South African universities who argue, further, that universities such as theirs would not be able to transform the academic project because their products are quickly nabbed by the private sector.
Moreover, transforming their universities needs the whole society to assist them.
This is perhaps a display of the most startling intellectual bankruptcy and academic arrogance one has ever encountered. For instance, if they intend to do away with the racial quotas, as they argue they should, how would they eventually ensure that knowledge generation is transformed to reflect the diversity of the South African population?
Every study undertaken has shown that South African universities are “alienating” to African scholars, and most are illiberal and often racialised.
If it requires 20 years after the completion of a doctoral degree to become a professor, as they propose, how many African professors have they produced in the first 20 years?
Hopefully it would not be only a single African female professor. In the 20 years required, the university administration would have probably changed hands and the new administrators are likely to tell us it needs another 20 years to redress the imbalances of the past 40 years or so.
Perhaps the most important question is: What plan do these charlatans and apologists who are at the helm of our universities have to transform their institutions? They have known uhuru was on its way. They claim to have plans but none can show progress on the plans. It’s all empty words, followed by workshops and lectures on the idea of transformation, 20 years later.
Clearly, the answer to the question above is that there is no plan, because it is “a universal problem” that Africans are nabbed by corporates, the civil service and what-have-you – and none chooses academia. It is a problem not to be inclusive in knowledge generation when the world is moving into a knowledge economy.
It is as clear as daylight that universities have rejected the transformation mandate of their major shareholder, the state, in favour of the mandate of anti-transformation minority agents posing as funders, in the guise of maintaining university autonomy and so-called standards. This is unheard of in the private sector, where the views of the majority shareholder are respected.
It is still not clear why our country has such high levels of tolerance for mediocrity and for people who are determined to maintain the status quo of apartheid inequality. Clearly, the leadership of our universities is acting in contempt of South Africa’s Constitution, which seeks to promote equality through redress for imbalances of the past and to transform all of our society.
The current defensive crop of vice-chancellors is taking us nowhere. Their stance makes a mockery of our hard-won democracy.
Our universities have become institutions that promote racism and sexism; they have become breeding grounds for racists. What is worrisome is that the racism is funded with public funds, and those at the helm of universities have now become the champions of racialised learning, perpetuating the status quo.
To argue, for example, that yours is not the only university that is not transformed, or that your university is smaller in size so transformation can’t take place, is pointless. It’s not the kind of argument one expects from someone who is supposed to possess a great deal of intellectual capital. It is an argument advanced by a lazy carpenter who always blames his tools.
Of course, knowledge generation, as is rightly argued, cannot be transformed overnight. But 20 years of democracy is not “overnight”.
Does it really take 20 years to ensure that isiXhosa, isiZulu or any other indigenous language is not taught in English? Why are the phonology and phonetics of our indigenous languages still taught in English in many universities, when French is not taught in Portuguese or vice versa?
There is only one solution to the transformation challenge facing universities.
Students, together with progressive academics, should emulate their 1976 counterparts to force those at the helm of universities to adopt real change and not cosmetic “window-dressing” change.
All other stakeholders, including the government, must intervene to make the process work. Vice-chancellors who show contempt for this process must be shown the door.
Lesiba Seshoka is the executive director of corporate relations at the University of Kwazulu-Natal. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the university.