By Vashna Jagarnath
The social tensions that have manifested in our universities are not just a result of problems in the universities. They are also expressions of the wider problems that pervade our society and have deep roots in the racial capitalism that has shaped our country.
One part of this toxic legacy is that the bulk of the education system was not designed and developed to cultivate independent thought for democratic citizenship. Over the years, both students and academics developed important ruptures within the logic of domination. However, the system as a whole was designed as a tool to discipline the working classes, peasants, not just in the colonized spaces but also within the metropolis. Where it was designed for elites it was often developed to train a colonial elite to manage a rapaciously racist system.
Effective reform of the education system inherited from colonialism and apartheid requires political will and significant social investment. However, after apartheid that political will was often lacking in our universities, and the ANC, following the model of a structural adjustment programme, seriously underfunded universities. In Cuba, 4.47% of the GDP is invested in higher education. In South Africa the figure is just 0.71%….
