The South African government has committed itself to a better life for all. Already some important improvements in the quality of life and the collective well-being of South Africans have taken place. Much remains to be done and ongoing social and economic transformation remains South Africa's central challenge. The long history of inequality, injustice and oppression continues to present an enormous challenge to the goals of societal reconstruction and development.
Dramatic and far-reaching improvements in the quality of outcomes throughout the educational system are a crucial part of solving the complex problems arising from South Africa's past. Higher education itself has a vital role in producing the knowledge, generating the socially committed graduates and providing various services for enabling this country to pursue social equity, justice and higher standards of living for all and contributing to the revitalisation of the African continent. A monumental effort is required by the government, educators and by society as a whole to address our challenges with creativity, courage and determination.
The Task Team is mindful of the demands on higher education to be responsive, play a developmental role and be publicly accountable. The demand for public accountability is a necessary and legitimate demand in respect of the use of scarce public resources. Valuable work is being done by many higher education institutions. However, there must be greater levels of responsiveness and accountability within the overall system, and higher levels of trust in higher education and between higher education and the government and public.
The lack of trust in higher education is the result of a number of factors. There is a perception that institutions have in various ways remained largely unchanged from their apartheid past. There is also concern about the quality of the outputs of institutions. Numerous inefficiencies plague the system. Various institutions evince governance and financial problems, inadequate financial systems, the unwarranted duplication of programmes and the lack of optimal use of infrastructure and human resources.
These problems of trust and accountability occur in a new context of the entry of private higher education institutions and the erosion of the historical monopoly enjoyed by public higher education institutions. If they are to maintain their pre-eminent position within South African higher education, public institutions will have to earn the status of being institutions of first choice for students.
Higher education, and public higher education especially, has immense potential to contribute to the consolidation of democracy and social justice, and the growth and development of the economy, despite the problems and challenges it faces. These contributions are complementary. The enhancement of democracy lays the basis for greater participation in economic and social life more generally. Higher levels of employment and work contribute to political and social stability and the capacity of citizen to exercise and enforce democratic rights and participate effectively in decision-making. The overall well-being of nations is vitally dependent on the contribution of higher education to the social, cultural, political and economic development of its citizens.
Higher education contributes to the enhancement of democracy in many ways. It fosters open and critical intellectual debate, contributes to a vibrant and engaged civil society and increases the possibility of participating in decision-making. Through creating the opportunity for social advancement it also enhances equity and social justice.
The role of higher education in the defence and advancement of democracy is closely related to promoting good citizenship, a function that is accorded to it in the White Paper of 1997. Such a role is also intrinsically related to higher education's ability to deliver programmes that are essential to the promotion of a critical citizenry, and to ensure that the higher education system is firmly rooted within South African society and its particular development challenges.
Higher education can play an important role in supporting social policy development and monitoring and evaluating the implementation of policy. In this way it contributes to society by engaging with the actual problems and challenges of social reconstruction and development as well as by functioning as a social critic. This ability is essential to the long-term role of enhancing society's capacity to consolidate democracy and promote prosperity. The rich tradition of social dialogue and tripartism can also benefit significantly from an effective higher education system through its research, critical thinking and community service functions.
President Mbeki has on a number of occasions referred to the role of higher education in society, and especially in emerging democracies such as South Africa. He considers it essential to the stimulation of critical discussion, engagement with social policies and to the reinvigoration of the African continent. The African Renaissance is inconceivable without knowledge and a critical mass of intellectuals being produced or enriched by higher education institutions.
The role of higher education is to develop greater complementarity between the economic and humanising goals of society. Both these goals are of critical importance to the survival and sustainability of nations, and to their ability to participate effectively in a competitive global arena and to meet the needs of citizens.
Democracy is also essential to the evolution of a learning society. Such a society engages broad social layers of its population in the process of learning and promotes tolerance for differing viewpoints. Democratic learning processes engage wide layers of society in the resolution of its problems and rely on the collective experience and wisdom of communities. Democracy creates the best environment for the achievement of a better life for all and democratic societies have a better chance to sustain and renew themselves.
The value and legitimacy of the higher education system in South Africa will also be judged by the extent to which it provides greater access and opportunity for black, and especially African and Coloured, South Africans, women and other socially disadvantaged groups. The higher education system is a potentially powerful agent to enhance the life opportunities of increasing numbers in society over time. High quality, equitable higher education promotes social mobility and the well-being of larger social constituencies, and thereby increases the stability of such a society.
Some success has already been achieved towards the goals of equity and social redress through developments in higher education in South Africa. In terms of 'race' and gender the student body has become much more representative since 1994. In 1999, 52% of students in universities and technikons were female, compared to 43% in 1993. In 1999, 59% of all students in universities and technikons were African and only 29% white, compared to 40% African students and 47% white students in 1993. These changes in student composition within such a short period are unparalleled in the world and constitute a promising platform for greater equity1.
The expansion of access to, and equality of opportunity within, higher and further education for historically and socially disadvantaged groups is essential to long-term development. Equity and access must also reflect greater participation by groups not traditionally well represented in higher education. These include students from working class and rural backgrounds and adults who possess work-related knowledge. The extent to which equity and access are actively promoted or frustrated will determine the nature and extent of social and class stratification and have a direct bearing on the nature of South Africa's democracy, labour market and social stability.
Higher education has private individual and public social benefits. The former relate to enhanced employment possibilities, better salaries and benefits, improved working conditions, improved health and quality of life and greater capacity to participate in policy and decision-making. These private gains also generate public (social) gains such as higher employment rates, higher savings, increased contributions to national revenue and incomes, greater workforce flexibility, a decreased reliance on government financial support and more active citizenship.
Recent studies suggest that in South Africa in 1996, only 2.9% of graduates were unemployed and looking for work2. This is a remarkably low percentage. Unemployment rates below 3% are regarded as full employment since 2-3% of any cohort is not employable due to physical or psycho-social problems. The HSRC graduate study further reported that more than 80% of all graduates, irrespective of field of study, perceived higher education to be of great benefit to them. This is demonstrated by the huge differences in employability and in the income of graduates relative to non-graduates. Table 1 below demonstrates that the average national monthly income of a graduate is more than double that of a matriculant.
| Table : Average National Income by Qualification (3) | |
| Matriculation only | R2 904.63pm |
| Matric + certificate | R4 170.19pm |
| Matric + diploma | R3 956.11pm |
| Matric + bachelors degree | R6 535.36pm |
In most developing countries, especially on the African continent, access to higher education has continued to be limited to a relatively small social stratum, which has sometimes used authoritarian forms of government to defend its privileged position. In South Africa the social and political challenge is to avoid excessively polarising society by closing off avenues of social advancement - indeed, our challenge is to significantly increase access.
Studies on the relationship between knowledge production and economic and social development have demonstrated the critical importance of the creation of new knowledge. The growth of knowledge, enhanced by the wider diffusion of information and communication technologies, has been the catalyst for high levels of social and economic development in regions such as the Pacific Rim over the last two decades.
The growth of capital in the global economy is increasingly dependent on knowledge based on a range of disciplines in the humanities, commerce and the social and natural sciences, and on information and communication technologies. The integration of knowledge is necessary to deal with the complex socio-economic problems of modern societies. The increasing generation and accessing of knowledge has led to what is often referred to as the 'knowledge society', promoted in the main by higher education institutions. Castells asserts that 'if knowledge is the electricity of the new informational international economy, then institutions of higher education are the power sources on which a new development process must rely. Such knowledge production is especially important for developing countries where the return on investment in higher education is much higher. In South Africa a considerable proportion of intellectuals and knowledge production, dissemination and application is located in higher education institutions. The development of a knowledge society could contribute significantly to managing and mediating the impact of globalisation.
A central feature of South Africa's economic policy is meeting the challenge of international competitiveness. An inability to compete will increasingly marginalise the South African economy, have profound effects on its rate of growth and consequences for the social well-being and stability of South African society. The acquisition of knowledge and access to new knowledge and technology creates new global power relations. Those countries that cannot gain access to knowledge and information technologies will continue to be dominated by countries that can adapt to its demands. Unequal access to knowledge and power reinforces inequality both globally and within countries. In the words of Brazilian President Fernando Cardoso, these countries will 'not even be considered worth the trouble of exploitation, they will become inconsequential, of no interest to the developing globalised economy. Castells warns that the 'systematic logic of the new global economy does not have much of a role for the majority of the African population in the newest international division of labour...The experience of Africa's transition into the new global economy is that 'structural irrelevance' is a more threatening condition than dependency.
The South African labour market has been undergoing major restructuring. Increasingly capital- and knowledge-intensive production and services have created a growing demand for skilled professionals in the scientific, technological, technical, and business fields. Professional and managerial occupations have been growing at 5% per annum. It is estimated that their share of total employment will increase from 15.2% in 1997 to 22% by 2002.
From an economic perspective, the private and public returns on many higher education programmes are, at present, greater than other levels of the education system. The availability of skills in the sciences and the technological, technical and business fields is a precondition for competitive success in the production of a wide range of internationally traded goods. The manufacturing, processing and service sectors, which will have a dominant impact upon the country's economic future, will depend much more on the knowledge produced and applied in and by higher education institutions. This is not so in the primary sectors, where South African output and employment has, in recent years, been stagnant or in decline.
It has been argued that international competitiveness could be achieved via short-term steps such as downsizing, privatising, retrenching, slashing of budgets and deficit reduction (also known as the 'low road'). The government's avowed policy is instead to pursue the 'high-road' in its industrial, science and technology, trade, investment and other strategies. This requires the expansion and improvement of higher education to alleviate one of the major present constraints on economic expansion: the shortage of good quality high-level skills. Such expansion and improvement would promote the possibility of jobs for many less skilled and unskilled workers, and a net improvement of economic welfare and equity could be the likely result.
As the share of intellectual value-added-in economic processes continues to grow, the ability to think abstractly will be increasingly important across all professions. Educational experience should span the natural and human sciences and promote the integration of knowledge. The resolution of many developmental problems is dependent on enquiry that is inter- and multi- disciplinary. The knowledge and adaptability and flexibility of skills acquired through life-long learning can enable graduates in developing democracies to operate in diverse social settings and develop complex notions of identity and citizenship. Educational systems that are responsive to social needs and the development challenges are much more likely to be vibrant. Overall, higher education contributes to social and economic development by increasing the level of cognitive skills throughout the society.
The process of democratic transformation and globalisation has placed new demands on the state and on the public service. The development of an honest, efficient, effective and innovative public service is crucial to overcoming the legacy of apartheid. The ambitious social transformation agenda of the reconstruction and development programme can only be tackled through a professional and skilled bureaucracy. Higher education can play a major role in generating the high and medium-level conceptual, policy development, planning and implementation capacities and managerial, administrative and financial competencies and skills that are needed in the public sector.
Higher education also has a crucial role to play in improving the quality of schooling, health care, welfare services and other public services at national, provincial and local levels. This requires more active promotion of continuing education and the upgrading of professional knowledge and technical skills, and creating flexible opportunities for life-long learning for practicing education, health, social services and other public sector personnel. It also requires thoughtful applied and strategic research around key social policy issues and the concrete problems of social reconstruction and development. Such research and the upgrading, consolidation and continuous enhancement of the knowledge, competencies and skills of public sector personnel is necessary for innovation, improved social delivery and development. Giving effect to life-long learning will require concentrated effort, the development of flexible continuing and adult education programmes and support and resources for such work.
Higher education is critical to the resolution of many of the unique and complex problems and challenges that face South Africa and Africa as a whole. These problems require solutions that take into account the African context. While the ability to access and apply knowledge and technologies is extremely important, the solution to many problems lies in the generation and application of knowledge and technologies appropriate to the peculiar conditions of the continent. The African renaissance will not be possible without higher education producing sensitive and committed intellectuals, scholars, writers, dramatists, artists, musicians and critics.
A short-term priority and a long-term policy imperative are the development of socially committed institutions and individuals with the critical intellectual capabilities to produce, disseminate and apply knowledge and technology. Reconstruction and development depends on producing well-educated and trained graduates with a range of competencies and skills. Without investment in human resource development and expanding opportunities for both young and adult learners, sustainable growth and socio-economic development will be difficult. John Douglass writes: 'As the global economy becomes more competitive, those states and nations that invest the most time and energy in expanding and nurturing their higher education systems, will likely be the big winners of tomorrow1.
The Task Team acknowledges the higher costs of higher education compared to lower levels of education. This is true of all higher education systems. Especially in circumstances where the school system is in great need of resources to enhance quality, the relative costs of higher education affects the choices made by government in the allocation of limited resources. The case for greater investment in higher education is not made on the grounds of equity and redress alone, although these are extremely important goals in their own rights.
The critical value of higher education to society lies in its ability to provide graduates with intellectual capacities and skills that can both enrich society and enhance its development considerably. This is dependent on higher education's ability to develop higher levels of intellectual rigour, a high level of analytical capacity, self-motivation, independence of thought, basic research skills and a capacity and mental aptitude for innovation. These attributes, delivered by a well functioning higher education system, cannot be achieved at lower levels of schooling. Yet they are crucial since they contribute a quality of public and professional leadership at all levels of society, which is essential to social development and social justice.
It is important that all those who meet the educational requirement for access to higher education, and who seek to enter the system, have access to higher education. The Task Team, however, regrettably concludes that the higher education system in South Africa, as in many other developing countries, will not in the immediate future be a sufficiently mass system in the sense of most of the 20-24 age-group and large numbers of adult learners being enrolled for higher education programmes. Currently, the provision of such higher education is too expensive. Even if students were available in sufficient numbers, the rate of expansion entailed would strain and undermine the quality of institutions.
The Task Team has little doubt that a greater participation level than the present 15% for the age group 20-24 should be pursued (see chapter 3). The proportion of graduates in the population as a whole is presently lower than in countries at a comparable level of per capita income. The benefits arising from quality improvement and an expansion of provision would be palpable, and well worth the costs entailed - including the opportunity costs implied for other parts of the education system.
No country has succeeded in generating sustainable socio-economic development without long-term investment in human resource development. South Africa's success depends on investment in its human resources. An equitable, good quality, efficient higher education system has a major role to play in producing the required high-level human resources. The successful pursuit of South Africa's reconstruction and development programme and the society's embrace of the high road of development demand the engagement of a highly responsive and responsible higher education system.
The current system has numerous shortcomings that were highlighted in the previous chapter. Far-reaching changes in higher education are overdue, urgent and unavoidable. The failure to undertake such changes could have unfortunate consequences for the public higher education system and choke its potential as a powerful 'engine of national development'.
The reconfiguration of the system and institutions should occur without over-zealous intervention or excessive regulation by government. At the same time, inappropriate and defensive appeals to institutional autonomy and academic freedom in the face of the imperative of reconfiguring higher education to meet socio-economic goals should also be avoided. The autonomy of institutions has to be reconciled with the need to account for the use of public resources. The right to pursue intellectual and academic goals has to be exercised within the framework of complementary social goals.
The reconstruction of higher education will require resources and time. The Task Team believes that present levels of funding must be sustained, at least in the next few years. In addition, donor funds must be mobilised for strategic interventions towards the reconfiguration of the system and the achievement of quality, equity, and efficiency in higher education.