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Date
: 07/02/2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Asmal: Inauguration chancellor & vice-chancellor of Free
State University
STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL, AT
THE INAUGURATION CEREMONY OF DR FRANKLIN SONN AS CHANCELLOR AND
PROFESSOR FREDERICK FOURIE AS VICE-CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
FREE STATE, Bloemfontein, 7 February 2003
Director of Ceremonies,
Chancellor Sonn,
Vice-Chancellor Fourie,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Dumelang!
I am delighted to have been invited to this occasion of celebration
at the University of the Free State.
As you may know, this institution was founded nearly 100 years ago,
in January 1904, and was then known as the Grey University College.
The name later changed to the University College of the Orange Free
State, then to the University of the Orange Free State and most
recently, to the University of the Free State. The changes in names
over the decades, indeed spanning a century, suggest an institution
that has been subjected to the travails and turbulent history of
South Africa. The University of the Free State has seen the
transition from colonial rule, to apartheid rule and finally to the
birth of a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa
filled with hope and promise.
It is in this context of change, of reconciliation with our past
coupled with transformation of the present, that we meet here today
to welcome into our midst both a new chancellor and a new
vice-chancellor.
Your tasks at this institution are many and complex in this age of
great change, characterised by the pursuit of justice in our
country, through programmes of social redress and reconstruction,
of cultural coalescence, of economic development and of lessening
the poverty of so many of our people. In our efforts to bring about
a new country unfettered by the apartheid legacy, the education
system itself has had to undergo vast and sweeping changes to meet
the needs of a new reality and of the African child eager to be
fully equipped to participate in the wider knowledge-driven
world.
In our Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education (1997),
we identified the importance of human resource development needed
to contribute to the social, economic and cultural life of our
rapidly changing society. We emphasised the importance of
high-level skills training to contribute to national development
efforts and social transformation. Government's response was to
take radical steps and to set out goals for the transformation of
higher education so that the system would be able to play a pivotal
role in responding to the many challenges that our country faces.
You may also be aware that Cabinet decisions, taken in December
2002, have brought finality to many years of discussion in the
sector about the restructuring of the landscape of higher
education.
Our dream, which we wish to turn into reality, is of a higher
education system where there is an increase in both the overall
quantity and quality of graduate throughputs and research outputs,
where there is efficient and effective leadership and governance,
where staff profiles are representative of our broader population
and where new institutional cultures emerge that reflect the values
of a non-racial society.
Certainly, the implementation of the transformation and
restructuring agenda pose enormous challenges to the higher
education system and to the Ministry, but I believe that through
our collective efforts in firm and committed partnerships, we can
work together to ensure an equitable, sustainable and productive
higher education system of high quality.
I am confident that with both Dr Franklin Sonn and Professor
Frederick Fourie in your midst, men of great character and of high
calibre, the University of the Free State will have at its helm
leaders and managers who will indeed be able to take this
institution to greater heights, to make history, to grow and not be
merely subjected to change. Both Dr Sonn and Professor Fourie are
the kind of people who can enrich and deepen the experience of
transformation, who can create a prospect that is worth working
towards and who can harness the energies of all at this
institution.
Dr Franklin Sonn has played his part in the struggle for change as
an ardent supporter of democracy and freedom. In our new era, he
has made his mark as a diplomat, who has excelled in projecting the
voice of South Africa and the face of our country in the United
States during his time as South African Ambassador. His years in
the education sector as principal of Spes Bona Secondary School in
Cape Town, as Rector of the Peninsula Technikon for an impressive
sixteen years during heightened student and national struggles will
stand him in good stead as he takes on the chancellorship of the
University of the Free State. Dr Sonn is currently Executive
Chairman of the Africa Group Corporation and also serves on
numerous corporate boards; I am convinced that his business acumen
will be of great assistance to the University.
Professor Frederick Fourie is no stranger to you. As Vice-Rector he
has contributed to the development of the University in different
ways. He has, in particular, contributed to the academic
restructuring of the University and has worked towards ensuring its
financial sustainability. Frederick has also played a major role in
enabling the incorporation of the Qwaqwa campus of the University
of the North into the University of the Free State.
The incorporation already puts this institution onto a new road. It
provides for enhanced access to higher education for students from
rural communities. As you know, the Government is firmly committed
to the growth of the system and in this regard, continues to make
major investment in the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. In
this year alone, the order of R800 million will be available in
loans and bursaries to qualifying students.
The formal incorporation of the Qwaqwa campus took place on 1
January 2003. However, you will agree that much work still needs to
be done to ensure that the campus is truly a part of the fabric of
the University of the Free State.
The issue of transforming institutional cultures is close to my
heart. Genuinely South African institutions must reflect the values
and ethos of our Constitution. This requires that we pay attention
to all aspects of the life of the institution, including the
academic, cultural, sporting and social spheres.
Residence life is an important area of the University, which can
nurture new traditions and values. But this cannot happen without
the political will and commitment to new ways of working. I hope
that the University will build on its efforts to ensure that the
residences are transformed into places that are genuinely welcoming
and embracing to students from diverse backgrounds and
experiences.
I would be amiss if I did not take this opportunity to salute the
role played by your recently retired Vice-Chancellor, Professor
Stef Coetzee, in driving transformation at the University of the
Free State. His leadership and foresight has ensured that the
University has been set on the path of becoming a truly South
African institution.
I wish both Chancellor Sonn and Vice-Chancellor Fourie all the best
in their endeavours to lead the University of the Free State and,
in this way, to play their part to contribute to the renewal of
higher education in South Africa and indeed the Continent.
Some years ago, our great leader, Nelson Mandela, said:
"The time has come for Africa to take full responsibility for her
woes; to use the immense collective wisdom she possesses to make a
reality of the ideal of the African renaissance whose time has
come."
It is up to Dr Sonn and Professor Fourie to use the "immense
collective wisdom" that this institution possesses to make a
reality of African change, of a renewed higher education system
that can and must meet the needs of our country.
The time has come for them to demonstrate that great ideas and
bright thoughts are first-born right here in Bloemfontein, and are
then nurtured and developed, and go on to change the lives of our
people.
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