Date: 28/01/2004
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Asmal: Inauguration of University of South Africa


KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION, PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL, MP, AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA, Ormonde, Johannesburg, 28 January 2004

Chairperson of the Interim Council, Dr Mathews Phosa
Interim Vice-Chancellor, Prof Barney Pityana
Interim Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof Neo Mathabe
Members of the Interim Council
Members of the Interim Management
Staff and Students of the Institutional
Community
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is with a great sense of pride and joy that I join you today on this historic occasion to celebrate the inauguration of the (new) University of South Africa (Unisa), which was born out of the merger of the (old) Unisa, Technikon South Africa (TSA) and the distance education campus of Vista University (VUDEC).

I must confess that as father to the process, I am elated that despite the long and at times, painful birth pangs, a birth that could all too easily have been aborted or required a caesarean section, was in the end smoothly and calmly transacted without any need for external stimulus or intervention. I am sure you would agree with me that this would not have been possible without the midwives to the process - the institutional constituencies and role-players at Unisa, TSA and VUDEC, whose commitment and dedication to a new tomorrow ensured the success of our collective labour. In this regard, I want to acknowledge the role and leadership of the erstwhile Councils of Unisa and TSA, in particular, the respective Chairpersons, Dr Mathews Phosa and Dr Anna Mokgokong. I have no doubt that their wisdom and experience and their understanding of the national change agenda played no small part in ensuring the successful establishment of the (new) Unisa.

The significance of the birth of the (new) Unisa that we celebrate and inaugurate today lies not so much in the fact that it has resulted in the establishment of a new mega distance education institution, which can hold its own with other comparable institutions in the world. This is not unimportant. However, its real significance, in the context of the broader restructuring process, is that the (new) Unisa is the harbinger of a new institutional type in the South African higher education landscape, that is, a comprehensive institution, which combines under one umbrella a university and technikon and their associated programme-types.

I want to suggest that in the same way that historically the old Unisa laid the foundation on which the South African higher education system was built, the (new) Unisa has the historic opportunity to lay the foundation, as the first of its type, for the development of comprehensive institutions. In this regard, the (new) Unisa, as well as the other comprehensive institutions, which are to be established in 2005, is charting new waters in virgin territory, as, apart from some limited endeavours, there is little to guide us in terms of international experience. Thus, as in much else in the life-span of our young and vibrant democracy, whose tenth anniversary we celebrate this year, we have the opportunity to be trail-blazers in contributing to the conceptualisation and development of a new institutional type in the context of the global higher education system.

The central challenge then is to give meaning and substance to the notion of a comprehensive institution. The point of departure for this, and I cannot over-emphasise this, must be that the (new) Unisa is more than the sum of its parts. It cannot be business as usual with old wine repackaged in new bottles. The successful development of a comprehensive institution must entail the integration in the real sense of technikon and university-type programmes.

This raises and is at the heart of the age-old debate down the centuries about the nature of knowledge, in particular, the relationship between theory and practice, between hand and brain and between basic and applied knowledge. It is all the more pertinent in the context of the phenomenon of globalisation and its impact on knowledge production and the world of work. It requires re-thinking and re-conceptualising the knowledge and intellectual basis of academic programmes and, in particular, putting under sharp scrutiny the narrow and simplistic view that continues to distinguish and to build iron curtains between career-focused, vocational, professional and general-formative programmes.

Unless this nettle is grasped the (new) Unisa would have failed in giving meaning to the potential inherent in the notion of a comprehensive institution and the role that it could play in enhancing the skills and knowledge base of our people and contributing to a range of goals, which are central to the government's Human Resource Development Strategy, including:

* Increased access with different entry requirements and improved articulation between career-focused and general academic programmes, thus facilitating student mobility
* Expanded opportunities for research and the strengthening and development of applied research
* Enhanced capacity to respond to regional and national social and economic needs and of industry and civil society in particular.

The challenge of conceptualising the notion of a comprehensive institution cannot, however, be done in isolation of the broader challenges of the reconstruction and transformation agenda in higher education. In this regard, I want to highlight two challenges, which together with the challenge of defining a comprehensive institution, would be the litmus test for determining the success or otherwise of the (new) Unisa.

First, the challenge of creating a (new) Unisa, with a new vision, new mission, new values, new identity, new philosophy and new priorities. It is to create a South African institution that is firmly rooted in and derives its nourishment from critically engaging with the people and society of which it is an integral part. It must reflect, articulate, engage and address the concerns of our people. And in so doing, it must "talk truth to power", but recognising that there is more than one truth and more than one source of power. Indeed, higher education institutions, given their role in the production and transmission of knowledge, are themselves an important source of power in society. It must therefore recognise its own power and ensure that it exercises that power responsibly and with integrity based on analytical and intellectual rigour.

Its task, as the Association for Commonwealth Universities' consultative document, Engagement as a Core Value for the University, suggests, "is not so much to offer the world packages of freshly discovered knowledge as to set examples of rigorous, well-structured inquiry". This is more than can be said for the standards that some of our intellectuals and academics aspire to, as the recent furore around the matriculation results demonstrates.

Second, the challenge of defining the role and function of distance education in higher education in general and the role and function of a dedicated distance education institution in particular. This is critical given the changes in information and communications technology, which through facilitating the development of new learning and teaching technologies and modes of delivery has resulted in an increasing blurring of the lines between traditional notions of contact and distance education. This development as the National Plan for Higher Education indicates, while welcome must not lead to the "uncritical introduction and adoption of distance education as a panacea for the challenges that confront higher education in South Africa".

However, I regret to say that in the absence of a clear policy framework, this has come to pass. We are currently dealing with the consequences, which include, amongst others, the development of poor quality distance education programmes by contact institutions with little or no relevance to skills and human resource development needs; inappropriate approaches to curriculum design, development and delivery; increased competition between contact institutions and between the latter and the dedicated distance education institutions; and the development of a new form of colonialism with South African institutions increasingly targeting the African market. In a nutshell, by and large, the development of distance education programmes by contact institutions has been driven primarily by financial gain and issues of quality and relevance have been put on the back burner.

It is precisely for this reason that I asked the Council on Higher Education (CHE) to investigate and advise me on the role of distance education in higher education, including the role of contact institutions in the provision of distance education. I eagerly await the Council's advice, which I understand has been finalised, as it would contribute to the development of an appropriate policy framework for distance education, which I am sure you would agree is long overdue.

However, if the (new) Unisa is to be an engaged university in the sense that I have described, then I suggest, irrespective of the Council's advice, it is the (new) Unisa's responsibility to take the lead in defining the role and function of distance education in higher education in general, and its specific role as a dedicated distance education institution, in particular, in contributing to meeting national higher education goals and objectives, as outlined in the National Plan for Higher Education, including:

Facilitating and enhancing access to higher education. The potential of enhancing access through an open learning approach, which removes all unnecessary restrictions and barriers to learning such as the current and rigid matriculation requirements, remains largely unexplored. The development of an open learning approach by the (new) Unisa would provide access to large numbers of non-traditional learners, namely, adult and mature learners, women and workers, who were systematically deprived of educational opportunity in the past. This would not only contribute to redressing the injustices of the past but also to social and economic development through the development of the skill and potential of all our people.

The development of multi-media courses and learning materials that could be used nationally to enhance and promote quality within higher education. This should be done in partnership with the contact institutions, thus bringing together the infrastructure and technical expertise that resides within the (new) Unisa with the academic and intellectual expertise that resides within the higher education system as a whole.

The development of learning centres, which would facilitate access and co-ordinate learner support systems, including tutorial support and the provision of appropriate libraries and other learning resources. This is critical to addressing the loneliness of long distance learners and recognises the social nature of education.

Enabling additional investment to take advantage of the rapid changes in information and communications technology.

Furthermore, I want to suggest that the (new) Unisa has a crucial role to play in enhancing access to higher education in the SADC region and the Continent more generally. In this regard, as you are aware, my Ministry is hosting an All-Africa Ministers of Education Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education in Cape Town next week, as a springboard for contributing to the development of a continent-wide framework for the role and provision of distance education. However, the participation of South African institutions in general and the (new) Unisa in particular in the provision of higher education in the rest of the Continent must be done in a manner that is consistent with the spirit and ethos of NEPAD. I therefore intend releasing at the Conference, for consultative purposes, a discussion document on a Code of Conduct that should guide South African institutions in their activities in the rest of the Continent.

I have no doubt that the (new) Unisa under the leadership of the interim council and management would rise to the three challenges that confront it, that is, to define its role as a South African institution, as a dedicated distance education institution, and as a comprehensive institution. This will not be easy. It will require enormous goodwill, sensitivity and hard work on the part of all the staff and students. It will require that staff and students leave behind the baggage of the past, in particular, the comfort zones provided by old institutional identities and ties. It will require a single-minded sense of purpose and commitment to the common good. I have no doubt that the commitment exists. This inauguration is to testimony to that commitment.

I am confident that a (new) Unisa that we can all be proud of, and I speak as a graduate of the (old) Unisa, will emerge from the ashes of the (old) Unisa, TSA and VUDEC. I wish you well as you begin your journey into the future.

I thank you. Ngiyabonga. Dankie. Ke a leboga.

Issued by: Ministry of Education
28 January 2004