“We expect the highest level of intellectual imagination from our student leadership,” said Minister of Higher Education and Training, Naledi Pandor, when she spoke on the role of student activism at the branch opening function of South African Student Congress (SASCO), held last week Friday, 9 March.
In her address, Pandor emphasised the importance of transformation and student activism, focusing specifically on gender and race related issues in academia. On transformation, the minister said, “I believe there has been inadequate transformation at leadership level in our institutions.”
“This creates the impression that women are seemingly considered unable to lead universities. Secondly, transformation of the academic core is proceeding at a very slow pace. There are too few senior black academics.”
Asakhe Mzini (21), Education student, attended the talk. PHOTO: Judy Philander
Pandor urged students to aspire to become academics, stating that very few black students choose to do so. “You can’t talk about decolonising [institutions] and expect the coloniser to decolonise,” Pandor explained.
Pandor said universities should be the physical embodiment of the Bill of Rights and the constitution, where students experience non-sexism, non-racism and respect for human dignity. “The intellectual character of higher education imposes this obligation on our universities because it is unintellectual to be racist and sexist.”
The minister revealed her thoughts on the current state of student activism, stating that there is an air of “protest demand rather than revolutionary action.” According to Pandor, student activism today demands a different approach. “If we were to be honest for a moment, we would have to admit that we are rather better at protesting than constructing.”
Pandor said leaders of student movements need to play a role in articulating a new way of doing things.
Sifiso Zungu, chairperson of SASCO Stellenbosch addressing his constituents. PHOTO: Judy Philander
When asked whether the minister had achieved the evening’s mandate, Sifiso Zungu, branch chairperson of SASCO Stellenbosch said, “I think she managed to cover everything, especially making sense of what it actually means to be a student activist. As she [Pandor] has said, we need to move away from the ideology of protest and sit down and negotiate with management and exchange ideas.”