Recalibrating the social ownership of our universities

Are African universities part of the oppressive economic, political and social superstructure in the continent? Who owns those universities? Do they know their students? How do they treat them and relate to them? What do they teach them? What is the future of those universities?

These were some of the questions posed by Professor Ahmed Bawa, the chief executive officer of Universities South Africa, a membership organisation representing South Africa’s 26 public universities, as he addressed delegates who joined the virtual University Social Responsibility Summit 2021 that took place from 3-5 February.

In a presentation themed “Recalibrating the social ownership of our universities: Their role in rejuvenating South Africa’s social, political and economic condition”, Bawa argued that there was an urgent need to establish a philosophical framework on ownership of African universities as public goods.

“We need 20- to 30-year planning horizons to establish policy coherence to give direction as to what the universities should do for the society as they are captured within our historical, political, economic and cultural narratives,” said Bawa.

Challenges amid growing inequality

Drawing his insights from experience as the former vice-chancellor and principal of Durban University of Technology in South Africa, Bawa stated that, whereas universities were traditionally charged to develop professionals, intellectuals and other experts in complex economies, now they are in the midst of many challenges, while there is also a growing inequality between and within nations.

“Extreme poverty, global warming, unchecked consumption, erosion of democracy, degradation of ethical society, escalation of political violence leading to massive migrations and rapid changes in the world of work are some of the local and global problems that societies expect universities to solve with credible solutions,” said Bawa.

He also cited public health problems, new technology moments, emergence of anti-intellectualism and populism as other challenges that are confronting universities worldwide.

But, according to Bawa, it will be hard for African universities to fulfil some of these societal expectations unless they are reimagined through their mandates, funding and encouragement to develop new relationships with their stakeholders.

A sharper focus on students

Citing the commonality of all universities globally, the fact that they admit students, Bawa argued that, for the sake of long-term sustainability, they would have to focus even more on their students.

He highlighted the issue of struggling second- and third-generation African universities that were promoted into full-fledged universities from technical institutes or basic education training colleges but were never funded properly to execute their new mandate of providing quality higher education.

In the South African situation, Bawa explained that some of the serious disruptions in higher education, due to student activism mainly at historically disadvantaged institutions, had to do with inadequate funding of education.

“The subsequent near-paralysis of the system as a result of those disruptions focused attention on the perceived failure of the university education transformation agenda in the country,” said Bawa.

According to Bawa, higher education disruptions that occurred in South Africa between 2015 and 2017 under the banners of #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall, focusing on social and economic exclusion, were alarm bells that were heard in many other countries in Africa.

Build bridges for people, ideas

He urged African countries to consider what universities are for, whom they are for and what they are expected to teach in order to accomplish their mission agendas.

In this regard, Bawa appeared to be critical of the aggressive neoliberal model of most African universities that viewed students as customers and a lifeline to their financial survival.

Commenting on the issue of ownership of the university, Bawa argued there was a need to reimagine a university that would not be a marketer of services but an institution that would create harmonious relationships with all its publics, especially the students and the community it aspires to serve.

According to Bawa, such a university should redefine its strategies on how to provide knowledge and practical skills by understanding the critical aspects of technology and research. It should also learn to build bridges through the free flow of scholars, scholarship, partnerships and ideas.

In order to succeed in their commitment to provide higher education and to engage with the communities, Bawa advised that universities should ensure their spaces were anti-racist, anti-tribal, anti-sexist and free of all forms of social and physical violence.

Additionally, he urged universities to create positive conditions for high-level learning as well as for becoming centres of arts and culture in the communities in which they are located.

Build structures for engagement

“To achieve some of those objectives, African universities should not just know they are home to significant talent and skills, but should nurture their students for higher productivity,” said Bawa.

Towards this aspect, Bawa wondered how many universities knew their students well in terms of what they brought with them from home, what they did not bring and what they were reading.

“The trick for success is to understand how to build permanent structures for engagement,” he said.

Subsequently, in addition to exposing students to challenging curricula and creating viable learning opportunities, Bawa noted there was an urgent need for African universities to start building new cohorts of intellectuals with the capacity for critical thinking and problem-solving.

Such cadres, according to Bawa, should also be adept at working in diverse teams and be effective communicators.

In his parting shot, Bawa said time was running short for the recalibration of African universities to enable them to start building new generations of scholars who will optimise learning and will establish social ownership of their institutions.