Chika Sehoole

Rural-based universities in South Africa: albatrosses or potential nodes for sustainable development?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on how two rural‐based universities in South Africa can contribute towards sustainable development especially in their immediate rural communities. It addresses the following questions: what conditions or policy frameworks exist that can engender a sustainable development trajectory? How can rural‐based universities reconstitute themselves so they can become effective agents for sustainable rural development? Historically, because of apartheid policies, these and other black universities were on the margins of the knowledge production process and have not effectively engaged in real development activities that would meaningfully improve the livelihoods of rural dwellers. The research identified policy and legislative instruments and strategies that can promote a dynamic interaction with other institutions thus empowering and promoting sustainability. The aim of the paper is to raise awareness about existing possibilities at the disposal of these institutions...

Knowledge and Change in the African University

In recent years, several transformations have taken place in higher education globally (Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbley, 2010), which have also impacted on Africa’s higher education sector. One of the main transformations has been the move from the industrial society to what some scholars have referred to as the ‘post-industrial’ or ‘information’ society (Masuda, 1980), in which knowledge has become paramount as the main driver of economies.

The Quest for Access, Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education in South Africa

South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994 was accompanied by challenges of democratization and transformation across the various spheres of society. One of these democratization projects was in the field of higher education which was riddled with inequalities following decades of implementation of policies and practices that promoted race, class and gender inequalities. The tone for the democratization project was encapsulated in the famous words of the former state president Nelson Mandela, when, at his inauguration as South Africa’s first democratically elected president of South Africa, he declared that “ never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world ” (Mandela 1994).

Internationalisation of African Higher Education

Africa faces several development challenges which have perennially threatened the socio-economic wellbeing of its people and stifled different facets of growth. Africa’s quest is to overcome these bottlenecks and take advantage of opportunities for enhanced development. These challenges have been summarised within the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which are discussed extensively in the introduction to this book.

The Role of Higher Education Internationalisation in Meeting MDGS

Historically, education in general and higher education in particular, have been associated with the development of nation states. The higher the level of education provision and participation levels in education, the higher the levels of development are likely to be in any particular country (Pillay, 2010). As Oyedepo (2005) states: “it is developed people that result in developed nations” (p. 6). Higher education generates research, knowledge and skills that underpin innovation and change in the economy and wider society.