Question NW2925 to the Minister of Higher Education and Training
31 October 2017 - NW2925
Mbatha, Mr MS to ask the Minister of Higher Education and Training
With reference to her reply to question 1592 on 22 June 2017, what is her department’s (a) understanding and (b) position on the decolonisation of South African institutions of higher education?
Reply:
1. Decolonisation means different things to different people, and is an issue that is being intensely engaged with across the university system, as students and staff grapple to make meaning and build a shared understanding of it.
From the perspective of the Department of Higher Education and Training, decolonisation is fundamentally related to rapid, and perhaps radical, transformation of the higher education sector. It is related to:
- Building a university system that has a South African, African, Global South and Global identity.
- Engaging critically with what is taught, learnt and researched in the university system to ensure that it reflects these multiple identities and diverse worldviews.
- Building an institutional culture at universities that is reflective of and receptive to multiple identities.
- Addressing inequalities in relation to who leads, manages, teaches and researches in the university system.
- Building a university system that is locally responsive and globally relevant.
The Department’s key intervention to promote the transformation agenda at an institutional level is the University Capacity Development Programme, which was described in Question 1592 on 22 June 2017. This is a multi-faceted, multi-year, resourced programme, which has the overarching goal of “Transforming teaching, learning, researching and leading towards enhanced quality, success and equity in universities”.
COMPILER/CONTACT PERSONS:
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DIRECTOR-GENERAL
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QUESTION 2925 APPROVED/NOT APPROVED/AMENDED
PROF HB MKHIZE, MP
MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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