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29 March 2022 | Story Prof Francis Petersen | Photo Sonia Small (Kaleidoscope Studios)
Prof Petersen_web
Prof Francis Petersen is Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS).

Opinion article by Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for institutions of higher learning in South Africa to maintain the delicate balancing act of finding sustainable funding solutions amid mounting pressures caused by rapidly altering learning and teaching environments, dwindling government subsidies, and the massification of higher education.  And uncontrolled, violent student protests might just be the final blow that sends many tertiary institutions over the precipice, says Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State.

There is no doubt that student protests have over the years played a vital part in South Africa’s journey towards and maturation as a democracy. During the anti-apartheid struggle, student organisations such as NUSAS, SASO and later SASCO kept South Africa’s human rights violations on the international agenda through unrelenting campaigns and protests. And more recently, the #FeesMustFall movement in 2015 and 2016 has raised important awareness around ensuring access to education for students from the lowest-earning households. 

Transcending boundaries of legitimate protest

The recent spate of violent protests on some university campuses, however, seems to transcend the boundaries of what can rightfully be termed as ‘protest action’. When students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and the Durban University of Technology (DUT) caused severe physical damage and disrupted classes at the beginning of the year, UKZN Vice-Chancellor, Prof Nana Poku, condemned their actions in no uncertain terms as ‘organised crime’. And he is right. This kind of behaviour is nothing but opportunistic criminality in the guise of legitimate protest. 

A few weeks after the violence erupted on campuses in KwaZulu-Natal, students on the University of the Free State (UFS) Qwaqwa Campus went on a similar rampage, throwing stones at protection officers, vandalising buildings, and raiding the university dining hall.   

There are distinct differences between these acts and the majority of past student protests.

Different issues

In most cases, current issues represent a much narrower interest than in the past, affecting only a certain section of the student population, and often revolving around the administrative processes concerning funding.  At UKZN, the main issue seems to have been students demanding to register even though they had historical debt. At the UFS Qwaqwa Campus, it was about a decision by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to pay accommodation allowances for students residing off campus directly to landlords and not to students themselves. Apart from affecting a relatively small number of students, the ‘fight’ was not per se with university management. Universities South Africa (USAf) pointed out that many of the issues raised by students this year were actually sector challenges and fell outside the control of tertiary institutions. Regardless of this, institutions regularly bend over backwards in an attempt to find workable interim solutions and making financial concessions to accommodate affected students. Prof Poku relates how at UKZN, the concessions made towards students with historical debts amounted to more than R1 billion. At the UFS, apart from similar concessions, we also offered students allowances for food and books amounting to more than R71 million this year, while they are waiting for their NSFAS subsidies to be released – a major impact on cashflow management. Despite these gestures of goodwill, a small group of aggrieved students still went ahead with violent acts, causing millions of rands of damage on campus and creating an atmosphere of intimidation and fear.  

Different environment 

University campuses today are vastly different spaces from what they used to be in the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of drastic and far-reaching changes in the educational landscape over the past few decades. Access to higher education has opened up and is no longer restricted to high-income households. The total number of students enrolled at higher education institutions increased by almost 70% between 2002 and 2020, growing to just more than one million in number. Coupled with that, tertiary institutions have gone through radical transformation processes, ensuring that they not only embrace diversity, but respect human rights and social justice through fair process and policy.

At the University of the Free State, for example, we have had well-considered, comprehensive transformation over several years in all spheres of operation, enabling us to become an institution where diverse people feel a sense of common purpose and where the symbols and spaces, systems and daily practices all reflect commitment to openness and engagement. We also have various initiatives to ensure that students are successful in their studies, ranging from tutorial programmes to language, writing, and psychological support.  Policies and structures are continuously being implemented and reviewed to embrace social justice in all its forms, with deliberate dialogue opportunities and avenues created for raising concerns and addressing them. At the UFS, student success is a social justice imperative.  Great care is also taken to involve our student leadership in governance on all levels, with a high level of student participation in all UFS governing structures. 

Despite all the different recourses available to them, and a genuine culture of participation and caring cultivated on our campuses, disgruntled splinter groups in the student body still routinely reach for the most destructive weapon in their arsenal of options, namely violent protests. These protest actions also often seem to jump the gun, as they happen in tandem with and despite fruitful, progressive negotiations with elected student leaders. Not only is this incredibly frustrating – it disrespects the rights and wishes of the overwhelming majority of students, and completely challenges the notion of ‘negotiation and engagement in good faith’. 

Wider ramifications

There are no winners in the wake of ill-considered, violent acts of vandalism. Offending students are no closer to a solution – in fact, they may find themselves suspended and in trouble with the law to boot. By disrupting classes and preventing access to campuses, they are effectively robbing their fellow students of the opportunity to work towards obtaining a qualification.  Affected institutions are impacted in their ability to provide quality education to students and in fulfilling their wider society-focused mandate. On top of that, potential donors and investors in the South African higher education sector are discouraged.

The sustainability and very survival of higher education institutions are ultimately at stake, as especially small and medium-sized universities simply cannot continue to bear the financial and operational burden that each violent protest brings. 

Tough reaction needed 

It has become necessary to take a tough stance against offenders who perpetrate senseless acts of violence and place students and staff members in danger on our campuses. At the UFS, we have always been very accommodating towards protesting students, not only as a constitutional right, but our approach in dealing with student misconduct has a strong element of restorative justice.  But we have decided to take a hard-line approach against the offenders in these latest acts of violence and destruction – opposing bail and instituting emergency disciplinary processes against them, resulting in immediate suspensions and sanctions which could lead to expulsion. We need to send a clear message that blatant acts of criminality will simply not be tolerated on university campuses.

We also appeal to political parties under whose banners many of these destructive activities are undertaken, to publicly condemn these acts and to call their members to order.

Respect a vital part of curriculum 

Throughout the course of history, we have come to associate university campuses with arenas where free speech is encouraged, and social ills are pointed out. This role should be cherished, continued, and encouraged – ‘reclaiming’ back the university campuses as spaces for discourse.  But equally important is the responsibility to use your right to freedom of expression in such a way that you do not violate the rights of other individuals or jeopardise the continued operation of the very institution you all form part of – and by implication, negatively affecting the wider interests of the society it serves. 
 
The role of universities is, after all, not only to provide good workers and innovative thinkers for the job market. We need to cultivate good citizens, who can make a meaningful difference to society. Teaching and encouraging mutual respect should be a vital part of any university curriculum. By letting criminality go unpunished and not speaking out to these acts, we are contributing towards a culture of entitlement, where people readily resort to criminal acts when they do not get what they believe they are entitled to. This cuts directly across what institutions for higher learning aim to achieve and bodes for a dangerous future. 

News Archive

School of Open Learning opens access to education
2011-12-08

 

Lanterns filled the night sky as UFS staff and guests celebrate the launch of the School of Open Learning at the university’s South Campus.
Photo: Johan Pretorius

A school which intends to expand the boundaries of the University of the Free State (UFS), providing good quality higher education that is based on open learning principles. That is what the School of Open Learning at the UFS’ South Campus is all about. The School was officially launched at the Campus on 28 November 2011. 

Prof. Daniella Coetzee, Dean of the School, told guests at the launch that the School will provide opportunities other than traditional learning in higher education and open up access to those who have not had the opportunity to study at a higher education institution. This includes taking programmes and courses to students at off-campus sites. The School of Open Learning currently has 46 off-campus sites across most of the provinces, i.e. Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, North West, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Limpopo and the Free State. The off-campus sites are serviced by a total of 350 university lecturers and well-trained facilitators and tutors.
 
At the moment most of the programmes and courses managed by the School of Open Learning have their academic home in the Faculty of Education, providing upgrading of the qualifications of teachers as well as in-service training. In 2011 the School of Open Learning enrolled more than 4000 students for the Education courses. To date a total of 28 000 teachers have been enrolled at the School to upgrade their teaching qualifications.
 
Collaboration with the Faculty of Law in the presentation of a BIuris degree on off-campus sites is also on the calendar for 2012. This degree will be offered through contact and E-learning at three off-campus sites: Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.
 
The University Preparation Programme (UPP) will also form part of the School of Open Learning. This programme has proven to be extremely successful in providing students access to undergraduate degrees at the UFS. The curriculum for this bridging year offers courses from the Faculties of Economic and Management Sciences, Human and Social Sciences as well as Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Since 1993 more than 4500 students have enrolled for degree purposes after successfully completing the UPP: 1641 degrees have been awarded to students who began their studies in the programme (including 168 honours degrees; 25 master’s and 8 M.B.Ch.B. degrees). The existing foundation course in the UPP is being adapted to also serve NQF level 4 in further education. As far back as 1998, the Sunday Times (Best in Education, 1998:1) named this programme as “one of the most innovative education programmes” in a special supplement on higher education in South Africa.
 
Also speaking at the event, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, said the South Campus is to become intellectually alive with possibilities. He said the university will make sure there are seminars, conferences and classes where students can mingle across the university’s three campuses.

 

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