In recent years, the spectre of anti-immigration has been haunting South Africa with deleterious effects on the standing of our country in the world. Elsewhere, I have suggested that what appears to be xenophobia—Afrophobia, to be exact, is in essence a contest about the allocation of resources in society. The latter is an argument for another day.
The most concerning thing about anti-immigration mobilisation is that it is affecting almost all sectors of society, including universities and the negative effects will take a long time to undo.
As the thing progresses, one can hear and see even tribal undertones and how these are undermining social cohesion and national unity—let alone Pan-African unity.
In political and cultural terms, the current nervous conditions can be seen as a significant moment in the life of our country. Of all the casualties of this mobilisation, it is the historical, cultural and national memory aspects that will haunt us much longer and the university is central in this regard.
Everyone should be concerned about the growing assault against the university and knowledge itself. Recently, the anti-immigration spectre reached the university sector and it seeks to isolate the South African university from the global community; so that it can be a mere village training centre. As you can imagine, the consequences for innovation, development and competitiveness are too ghastly to contemplate!
In May 2025, the national parliament, through the portfolio committee on higher education, welcomed the spectre of anti-immigration in its chambers. In one sitting, questions were raised about the hiring of foreign nationals as administrative staff in our universities and lately, the questions evolved into questioning the presence of academics who are foreign nationals.
Nobody will object to the right of parliament to ask questions. However, what is terribly concerning is the degeneration of these questions to the level of populism, recklessness and mindlessness.
It is at this point that the idea of knowledge and the university as a cultural institution faces enormous danger and in turn, the very civilizational purpose of education.
Without any doubt, the bean-counting of foreign academics is aimed at isolating and humiliating them to a point where some may be forced to leave the country to avoid discrimination and even death itself. Politically, this is an attempt by some members of parliament to capture the prevailing anti-immigration sentiment for populist ends.
In order to legitimise their anti-immigration policy positions, these members of parliament conceal their questions under the frames of the law and compliance requirements. Of course, every immigrant must comply with the laws of the republic. However, behind the cloak of the law is the true intention: the destruction of knowledge and the university as we know it.
Although the government funds public universities, there is no single state entity that can stop the university from knowledge exchanges with other countries, students or scholars. In fact, it is parliament that adopted the Constitution and Higher Education Act to enable universities to pursue academic freedom, institutional autonomy and public accountability.
The drafters of the Constitution were correct to prescribe 'academic freedom and freedom of scientific research', if the experience of fascist apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany is anything to go by. Therefore, it cannot be the same parliament that undermines the Constitution and the rule of law!
The idea of a university
The university, by design, is as much a global institution as it is a local one. It will never be reduced to a village training centre or a high school.
Since the founding of the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco, in 857 AD, knowledge exchange has always been a key normative standard that keeps the university relevant, excellent and competitive anywhere in the world.
The university is a cultural institution that exchanges knowledge through learning, teaching, research and innovation.
For relevance, the university must exchange all sorts of knowledge and ideas with both domestic and foreign lands and peoples, so that it can shape and be shaped by the society in which it exists.
The university cannot define society in domestic terms only. Without a doubt, the exchanges by students and academics enrich the knowledge base of the university, as well as the country as a whole.
From an enrollment planning perspective, it is universities that determine how many foreign students can be admitted. It is also the university that recruits foreign academics to form part of the faculty.
By international norms and standards, most universities have between 10% and 15% of their academic staff being foreign nationals. South Africa is no exception and should not be asked to do otherwise.
Knowledge exchange by faculty in the university is not a by-the-way thing; it is at the heart of quality assurance, the delivery of quality education and the enormous public value we derive from universities.
The implications of anti-immigration mobilisation for the university
The implications are dire and we cannot afford them. If universities accept this mobilisation on the basis of the prevailing anti-immigration sentiments, the university will be hollowed out, knowledge itself will be destroyed and our global competitiveness will be diminished.
If we agree with the anti-immigration slogans, then we must also accept that we are hypocrites and people of double standards. It cannot be right that we read books by foreign scholars, enrol them as doctoral supervisors and examiners, source distance education students anywhere in the world and accept their tuition fees, utilise global online information platforms, agree to collaborate on the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and yet reject the very same people on our campuses.
Knowledge transcends borders and narrow identities. It is formed, exchanged and applied in local and global contexts across time and space.
There is no gainsaying that to be relevant and excellent, a university needs global exchanges and partnerships. Certainly, the quality of teaching and research outputs must compare well with other peers elsewhere in the world.
In the 21st century, international cooperation is even more necessary. We have an unprecedented technological revolution underway and it affects the knowledge economy in profound ways, including issues such as sovereignty and human security.
Beyond just knowledge exchanges, there is a constant need for benchmarking and learning from others so that our students and academics can add value to the global commons. If we accept the villagisation of the university, we will lose all these opportunities and more!
Beware of the spectre of anti-immigration mobilisation. We must all stand up and reject it. If we fail to do so, the university as we know it will be lost in the fire!
David Maimela is a public policy specialist with a keen interest in foreign policy and international relations. He is based at UNISA and writes in his personal capacity.