Need for greater buy-in to reform seats of learning

The stories emerging about black students’ experiences in South African universities are nothing short of tragic. Stellenbosch University students have released a film called Luister (Listen), which documents their experiences of racist and exclusionary behaviour.

Councils must back off:

A second governance reform would be to reconsider the role of university councils. These entities, like corporate boards, should be focused on strategic decision-making and ensuring sound fiscal management.

The government changed its policy after apartheid and empowered councils to get more involved in universities’ affairs.

The rationale was that those council members appointed by the government would be sensitive to the necessity of diversifying a largely white academy.

It was a good idea at the time, but unfortunately it hasn’t played out as intended.

The first problem has been the government’s approach to funding universities. They have demanded that the number of students be increased – but increased funding at below inflation rates. This pressure has pushed councils away from engaging in strategic initiatives and instead seen them focusing on budget line items.

Another problem arises when council appointees adopt a corporate mind-set to university governance (and to ideas about transformation).

For instance, a number of councils are pushing for annual quantitative measurement systems around research, teaching and service. This is inappropriate and distracts from what universities are about: knowledge generation and social development, both of which are often hard to measure in the short-term. University councils need to return to their arms’ length roles and allow internal governance structures to get down to the business of transformation.

Decentralise power:

A third and final governance reform in aid of transformation would involve decentralising the power of senior university management. Despite statutory safeguards, much authority is centralised with vice-chancellors and their deputies.

For transformation to really be effective, it needs to be an initiative owned and driven by everyone.

Universities are microcosms of society.

They are a community where different stakeholders – students, academic staff, support staff and others – contribute to its functioning. This needs to be recognised more coherently and appropriately in governance structures.

In such a context, what is needed are senior university managers who act as leaders, facilitate the deliberations of a more democratic and representative governance structure, and promote change, not individuals who are concerned with their own power and authority.

This will require a culture shift among senior university leaders.

South African higher education needs to get to grips with transformation.

There is no silver bullet, but rethinking how our universities are governed must be central to our efforts.

Hornsby is a senior lecturer in international relations and assistant dean of humanities at University of the Witwatersrand. This article is available for reprint thanks to the Creative Commons Corporation nd/4.0/legalcode. It has been slightly amended to fit the Dispatch style and space available