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Universities, Government and Social Engagement: Experiences in Southern and South Africa
01 March 2007
Author: Derrick Swartz
Organisation: University of Fort Hare (UFH), South Africa
Today, universities in Southern Africa, and indeed many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, are experiencing something of a rebirth or renaissance – albeit tentatively and precariously - after decades of stagnation, under-development and crises. This paper will briefly sketch what I consider to be some of the salient new shifts taking place in the way African universities today are beginning to relate to governments, and more broadly state systems in sub-Saharan Africa; and the underlying changes in the forms of ‘engagement’ of universities with their economic and social habitat.
For a long time, ever since the end of the Second World War, African universities have been developed very close, often tightly regulated and dependant relations with their corresponding governments and ruling elites, particularly with regards to how they were controlled (governance) and funding. In recent years, this tradition of state dependence or ‘state-centric’ development appears to have been losing ground, in favour of much more open, dispersed and diffused modes of institutional development as many universities seek to locate their mandate, role and functions within a wider spectrum of social relations.
This diffusion of the university within a wider set of societal relations in turn seems to stem from a wider structural realignment within these societies - between state, economy and society - in the context of the twin pressures of globalization and democracy. As many African states moved to restructure many aspects of economic management, policy-makers also introduced higher education reforms which in effect gave significant strategic flexibility to universities to exercise their autonomy in society. If these external pressures, together with ‘state failure’ provided the main ‘push’ factors in propelling universities to embrace more autonomous roles in society, they were also being emboldened by the rise tide of democratic movements from ‘below’ in taking advantage of these new freedoms.
Today, many universities in sub-Saharan Africa are beginning to orbit within an increasingly diverse, discursive spectrum of relations – business organizations, cooperatives, NGO’s, civic associations, women’s groupings, foundations, etc. – through which they seek to realize their mandate objectives. This ‘poly-centric’ (as opposed to state centric) development model has been marked by a new wave of institutional activism by African universities seeking their sources of sustainability beyond patronage from ruling elites and political regimes.
However, these new social spaces are by no means value neutral and the choices made by leaderships offer both exciting opportunities for sustainable development as they present difficult trade-offs and dilemmas. If the exclusive raison d’tre for social engagement is revenue, this may well help ‘third-stream’ university income (to augment state subsidies), but it may also circumscribe or condition the types of partnerships institutions tend to privilege. Secondly, if universities engage with their local habitat for reasons of gaining legitimacy or relevance, they may, as is the experience of many universities in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, work successfully with local actors in creating ‘social capital’, strengthen democracy and using knowledge to improve quality of life in local communities; but if this is built on narrow local political allegiances, electoral shifts from one to another party may compromise the strategic autonomy of the university.
What is clear is that the new context of engagement of the post-1990’s in sub-Saharan Africa is decidedly more complex, diffuse and multi-polar than at any previous time in history. In the new context, there may be no neat or easy choices for universities to take in embracing new opportunities. It may be possible to building strong, mutually-rewarding alliances from below with local communities and social interests, but for this to be sustainable requires a framework appropriately supported by a cohesive partnership involving government, university, investors and relatively skilled local community institutions.
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