Internationale Kulturwissenschaften International Cultural Studies Etudes culturelles internationales
Sektion II:		Transformation alter wissenschaftlicher Institutionen
Section II:		Transformation of Old Scientific Institutions
Section II:		Transformation dans les anciennes institutions scientifiques

Kathleen Thorpe (Johannesburg) [BIO]

German

French

Post-Apartheid Transformation at Universities in South Africa: The example of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Transformation is a loaded concept within the context of South African education in general. The process of change from a state imposed segregated education system under the Apartheid regime (1948-1994) to one representative of a democratic society, ensuring equal access and opportunity has impacted heavily throughout the education system of the country. Tertiary educational institutions are faced with numerous challenges, not the least of which is trying to effect meaningful change and transformation in an unfavourable economic climate. The example of the University of the Witwatersrand, an urban institution in Johannesburg, i.e. at the hub of economic activity in the country, with a rapidly growing population, illustrates one tertiary educational institution's attempt to grapple with the problems and opportunities presented by the need, and indeed legal requirement, to transform itself in order to meet the needs of the region within a context of increasing international competition and globalization.

Although the subject of transformation has long been on the agenda of various fora at the University of the Witwatersrand even prior to the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, indeed, as a so-called "open" or liberal academic institution, the University was constantly at loggerheads with the Nationalist government concerning the University's right to admit whom it chose to study or teach there. As an Historically White University (HWI), much progress has been made in altering the racial composition of the student body of approximately 18.000 students, to more accurately reflect the demography of the country. Whereas in 1994 only 35,7% of students at the University were Black, the 50% mark was reached in 1998. This development is in the face of declining student numbers at tertiary institutions nation wide.

Transformation is not a process that has been permitted to be solely internally regulated by the tertiary institutions themselves. Tertiary education has been viewed by government as one of the key areas targeted for political attention and subsequent legislation since 1994. The universities must, therefore, transform themselves within a legislative framework shaped, for example, by such labour legislation as the Equal Opportunities and Equity Act, and especially, the Higher Education Act of 1997. As the Minister of Education Professor S. Bengu stated in his introduction to the Green Paper on Higher Education Transformation (1996), which preceded the Higher Education Act:

the system of higher education must be both expanded and transformed, within the reality of limited resources. In order for such expansion and transformation to be effective, and to deliver the required results, redress is a further imperative. Redress must operate partly in terms of access: it must ensure that no-one with the capacities to succeed in higher education is barred from doing so. And redress must also operate at the institutional level, in ensuring that inherited inequities and disparities are identified and addressed.

The latter reference to previously disadvantaged institutions has in recent days become a matter of public debate. Indeed, Professor Bengu has recently publicly attacked Historically Black Universities (HBU) for their appalling level of student debt (all South African universities are fee-paying institutions) and the revelation of a woeful lack of management skills at some of these institutions. This is of great concern to tertiary education in South Africa as a whole, because, as Professor Bengu stated in the Green Paper refered above, that: "South African Higher Education should be planned, governed and funded as a single co-ordinated system. This required the adoption of a range of new governing, planning and funding arrangements".

The Preamble of the Higher Education Act outlines the following points in the regulation of tertiary education in South Africa:

• REDRESS past discrimination and ensure representativeness.
• PROVIDE optimal opportunities for learning and the creation of knowledge.
• PROMOTE the values which underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom;
• RESPECT freedom of religion, belief and opinion;
• RESPECT and encourage democracy, academic freedom, freedom of speech and expression, creativity, scholarship and research;
• PURSUE excellence, promote the full realisation of the potential of every student and employee, tolerance of ideas and appreciation of diversity;
• RESPOND to the developmental needs of the Republic and of the communities served by the institution;
• Contribute to the advancement of all forms of knowledge and scholarship, in keeping with international standards of academic quality;
• ENJOY freedom and autonomy in their relationship with the State within the context of public accountability and the national need for advanced skills and scientific knowledge;

In addition, it is deemed "DESIRABLE to establish a single co-ordinated higher education system which provides for programme-based higher education and to restructure programmes and institutions to respond better to the human resources and economic needs of the Republic of South Africa".

In order to implement these aims a Strategic Plan (currently in draft): 'Shaping the Future" is under debate by the Senate of the University of the Witwatersrand. The Plan contains not only a strategic audit according to 1)the external environment and 2) institutional values, but also seven clearly defined goals, with an attendant strategy for their realisation, namely: Teaching and Learning, Research and Scholarship, Outreach and Partnerships, International Standing, High Calibre Staff, High Quality Living and Learning Environment, Optimal Use of Resources. A particular area of concern, declared in the University's Mission Statement and further elaborated in the Strategic Plan, is the University's stated commitment to Internationalisation, not only of its curricula, but also in the composition of its teaching staff and students.

		Internationale Kulturwissenschaften International Cultural Studies Etudes culturelles internationales
Sektion II:		Transformation alter wissenschaftlicher Institutionen
Section II:		Transformation of Old Scientific Institutions
Section II:		Transformation dans les anciennes institutions scientifiques