Page 19 - Transformation Indaba Report

Prof Soudien highlighted important policy changes related the many developments around student housing and
to GBV, anti-discrimination, racism, sexism, homophobia and accommodation.

2.3 General features of the HE Experience: Policies (slide)

• All universities mentioned gender-based violence and related policies and noted their interventions in student
life to confront this.
• The universities referred to various issues in relation to changing their institutional cultures, including bullying,
harassment, victimisation; a culture of sexual harassment and GBV (or even “rape culture”); hate speech,
discrimination, racism, sexism, and homophobia; changing language policies and names of places and buildings;
and efforts to promote and entrench non-racialism, non-sexism, tolerance, human dignity, equality, freedom,
democratic norms and social cohesion.
• The development of university infrastructure was occasionally reported as a transformation issue, for example,
with reference to student housing and the related development or upgrading of living and learning amenities,
the repurposing of library space as ICT labs and concomitant expansion of online libraries, etc.

Institutional culture (slide)
Language Policy
• This has been a particular challenge at those historically white universities at which Afrikaans used to be the main
form of communication and the language of tuition.
Curricula
• Which were perceived as Eurocentric and buildings and structures named after Europeans and Apartheid icons
were changed to reflect African and South African realities. This process, which is sometimes also referred to as
one of “decolonisation”, gained new impetus with the #MustFall movements of 2015.
• Although the decolonisation critique has mainly focussed on HWUs, some HBUs also have been viewed as having
insufficiently Africanised their curricula and culture.
Discrimination
• In the form of hate speech and background racism was also reported to be an institutional cultural challenge by a
number of universities.
• At Unisa, allegations and counter-allegations of racism, harassment, bullying and victimisation were widely
reported, leading the vice-chancellor to request that the South African Human Rights Commission investigate in
2017.

Prof Soudien has seen numerous interesting developments Prof Soudien regards T&L as an intriguing space that often
around policy – debates, successes, failures, triumphs, and falls under the radar in numerous institutions. He has seen
defeats around Afrikaans. Unisa experienced a legal setback much development around bridging programmes and
regarding the language question. SA has had major discussions suggests the need for developmental courses such as English
around curriculum, but they’re often too cosmetic. Instead, for academic purposes. In many institutions, the FY experience
it’s an assimilation of terms and use of new language rather has become a key issue. Grounding modules also feature
than an interrogation about the meaning of decolonisation. prominently as a major attempt at Africanisation inside the
context they find themselves in. It’s an under-reported
development which has happened inside universities.

NelsoN MaNdela UNiversity • traNsforMatioN iNdaba • 2022 13