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Item Decolonising the future in the untransformed present in South African higher education(University of the Free State, 2017) Fomunyam, Kehdinga GeorgeSouth Africa as a nation became democratic in 1994 because of the end of apartheid. Since 1994, higher education has geared towards transformation and redress of the inequalities created by the inhuman policies of apartheid. While few applaudable steps have been taken towards this direction, South African higher education remains largely untransformed. For the past two years, a wave of student protest swept across the nation, calling for decolonisation of higher education in general and the curriculum in particular. This move brings to mind several questions about decolonisation and transformation. What is the state of South African higher education? Why has it remained untransformed since the advent of democracy? What should be decolonised to ensure transformation of the present and the future? This paper therefore ventures to answer these three questions using the theory of social transformation as a lens. The paper points out that funding structures, research politics, administrative structures and a lack of interest are amongst the reasons for the lack of transformation. The paper concludes that there will be no transformation until higher education institutions have been decolonised. Social transformation is therefore argued as the pathway for decolonisation. The paper recommends that transformation in higher education should go beyond the shelves where they are stored as policy to the classroom and university environment for practice and universities need to revise their understandings of transformation under the guidance of the DHET.Item Deconstructing quality in South African higher education(Emerald, 2018) Fomunyam, Kehdinga George>This study aims to examine six South African universities with a particular focus on the quality of teaching and learning. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study approach was adopted and data were mainly generated by means of open-ended questionnaires. The questionnaire was circulated to approximately 1,800 students and 746 completed it. The data were categorized and analysed thematically, using both national and international benchmarks for quality teaching and learning. Findings The findings reveal that teaching and learning in South African universities is marred by a plethora of challenges. Lecturers lack basic skills and essential resources to effectively facilitate teaching and learning. Furthermore, quality benchmarks set by the Council on Higher Education are only met on paper and little or nothing is done to translate this into practice. Originality/value The study proposes among others that clearer policies on funding are recommended to ensure proper allocation of resources, staff development and institutional comeliness. Finally, to enhance transformation, universities should prioritize teaching and learning and take steps to ensure that those teaching in the classroom are qualified to do so.Item Decolonising for higher education excellence(2019-03-01) Fomunyam, Kehdinga George; Fomunyam, Kehdinga GeorgeItem ICT possibilities for primary and secondary education in Africa(iaeme, 2019) Fomunyam, Kehdinga GeorgeInformation and Communication Technology (ICT), is an essential aspect of the primary and secondary education system in Africa. It is a well-known fact that ICT improves the quality of learning and teaching curriculum in schools, while serving as an agent of change by bringing growth and development to the economy. The aim of this paper is to highlight the positive impact of ICT in primary schools across the African continent. It discovers that this new world order is under-utilized in schools as teachers prefer using the traditional way of teaching. The paper concludes that the governments should come up with appropriate ICT policies to improve the school systems and recommends the introduction of workshops and training for teachers at all levels of education.Item Theorizing international postgraduate student lecturers' experiences in South Africa(2021-06-01) Kehdinga, George Fomunyam; Noluthando, MatolaThe internationalisation and globalisation of our current world has led to the mobility of students across borders in the pursuit of quality education. South Africa has become a popular choice destination for some of these students who intend to further their studies by undertaking postgraduate programs in different fields. For variety of reasons, these students take up part time jobs whilst studying, and some continue to tow the education line by becoming part time lecturers. This paper explores the experiences of postgraduate student lecturers in South Africa. Using a qualitative case study research approach, this paper adopts a purposeful sampling strategy to generate data from participants who were pursuing their postgraduate degrees at masters and PhD levels. Findings reveal that the major challenges faced by postgraduate student lecturers in South Africa include culture shock, technological barrier, inadequate academic resources to work with, and the struggle to create a study-work-life balance. This paper recommends that international postgraduate students lecturing be trained and taught the basics of some South African cultures before they are allowed to handle students in the classroom. The learning environment should be made conducive enough to facilitate effective teaching and learning because, overcrowded classrooms affect both lecturers and students. Lastly, these student lecturers should be offered training in the use of technologies used for delivering their lectures, and all learning resources needed to ensure a seamless teaching and learning process should be made availableItem Decolonising perspectives in the era of globalisation and internationalisation(African Sun Media, 2019-07-01) Jabosung, Kelly Ngesungwo; Fomunyam, Kehdinga George; Doh, Nubia Walters; Fru, Raymond NkwentiConceived within a context of transdisciplinarity and pluriversalism, and in rigorous response to the Eurocentric, globalising and nationalising structures of power that undergird and inhabit contemporary praxis in higher education -Item Challenges of student accommodation at institutions of higher learning : a case study of University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa(Centre for the Study of Southern African Literature and Languages, 2022-12-12) Adam, Ahmed Sadeq; Adam, Pamela; Adam, Jamila Khatoon; Krishna, Suresh Babu NaiduAccess to higher education by the general populace in South Africa has been steadily increasing over the last decade. With this increase in access, major challenges have presented themselves that may compromise the transformational agenda for higher education in South Africa. The focus of this research was to examine the challenges associated with student accommodation. In total, 600 questionnaires were dispatched to students from the five campuses of University of KwaZulu-Natal and 453 were returned which gave a 75.5% response rate. The research instrument consisted of 31 items, with a level of measurement at a nominal or an ordinal level. Data obtained from the respondents included biographical data, quality of accommodation, accessibility and adequacy of accommodation, security, safety and health issues in the University accommodation. The questionnaire was the primary tool that was used to collect data and was distributed to students who lived in residences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). The data collected from the responses were analysed with SPSS version 24.0. The study’s focus was to examine various challenges associated with student accommodation in South Africa specifically UKZN and results indicated that accessibility to the university accommodation for residential purposes is a great challenge for many students. Other issues faced by students include insecurity on campus, irregular security checks, inefficient and untimely manner of the quality of services rendered by the hall management. Good and efficient accommodative measures by the university are necessary for quality academic output; hence, the need for critical intervention, as suggested in the study.Item Water security in South Africa: perceptions on public expectations and municipal obligations, governance and water re-use(Creative Commons Attribution Licence, 2016-07-03) Sershen, S.; Rodda, N.; Stenström, Thor-Axel; Schmidt, S.; Dent, M.; Bux, Faizal; Hanke, N.; Buckley, C. A.; Fennemore, C.South Africa is a water-scarce country with increasing pressure on its water resources. Urgent interventions are needed to protect water security within this rapidly developing country. This paper reports on an interdisciplinary Water Security Colloquium, convened by the South African Young Academy of Science in 2014. A selected group of water professionals from academia, civil society and local government was brought together to discuss water security under three focus themes: ‘public expectations and municipal obligations’, ‘water security and governance: challenges and advances’, and ‘water re-use: health and infrastructural considerations’. Participant perceptions were generated using a focus group methodology, combined with participatory data collection methods. Under each theme, inputs were categorised as ‘challenges’, ‘gaps in knowledge’, and ‘solutions/recommendations’ and these inputs were thereafter ranked in order of importance via a ‘voting’ process. Major challenges perceived included a lack of both skills and political will in government, a need to restore citizen trust in government intention and capability to deliver water-related services, and a failure to up-scale existing water re-use technology. Participants identified understanding of the process and implications of the Green and Blue Drop Programmes, knowledge transfer to the public, and the role of educators as major knowledge gaps. The top suggestions proposed included creating public awareness around and buy-in to initiatives to improve water security, accessible and user-friendly conversion of research results to implementation, and ensuring an active role for educators in creating awareness around water security. In view of the concerns identified, participants suggested as potential solutions: improving government and public understanding around water issues, incentivising water re-use and conservation, introducing rising block tariffs and improving human capacity development in the water sector. Developing the ecological infrastructure that protects both quantity and quality of water and building strong partnerships among all stakeholders were also recognised as key.Item Developing and improving human capital and productivity in public companies(Virtus Interpress, 2016) Sithole, Nozipho; Ngibe, MusawenkosiThis article assesses the impact of the Assisted Education Programmed (AEP) in developing and improving human capital and productivity specifically for eThekwini Municipality employee human resource. This program offers funding to employees to further their studies in higher learning institutions, which are in partnership with and recognized by eThekwini Municipality. The core function of this program is to improve and develop employee capabilities in order to enhance municipal productivity. However, different factors have prohibited the program from reaching required funding polity objectives. Participants filled in questionnaires and from them data were collected. The study used quantitative research as a method of research. The target population for this study consisted of 100 participants. The study sample size were 64 participants which were randomly selected out of the Durban and Solid Waste Unit, specifically general assistants. The study analyzed data using SPSS (version 23.0). A significant percentage of respondents indicated to a lack of transparency and poor consistency in the process of awarding the funding and to insufficient information, which detailed the criteria for eligibility of applicants. Henceforth, the study concluded that municipal employee underutilized the AEP because of being ill informed about it. This resulted in the employee perception that the program had little or no benefit to them and that it had no value in improving their human capital development. This finding is shown by a Chi-square goodness of fit test to be statistically significant (std=1.49150; mean=2.7500; p=.000).Item Righting an inverted pyramid : managing a perfect storm(Centre for the Study of Southern African Literature and Languages, 2013) Bawa, Ahmed C.The higher education participation rate in South Africa has been stagnant over the last 20 years and this has resulted in a very substantial gap between graduate supply and demand. The pressure for massification is also a response to other sociopolitical and economic imperatives. Notwithstanding the projections in the Green Paper on Post-School Education, it is argued that the structural inefficiencies in the way in which post-school education is currently structured will prevent massification. A purely speculative model is discussed for the organisation of higher education in KwaZulu-Natal, which it is argued, deals with these structural constraints and inefficiencies. It is proposed as a speculative model because its primary function to demonstrate that there are indeed viable ways to re-think the construction of the post-school education and training system to respond to the material conditions that prevail. The model proposed is a single federal institution of at least 60 existing campuses spread throughout the Province. A necessary condition for the model to work is that it will be a highly differentiated and then strongly articulated, thereby dealing with a rather contested national challenge of differentiation but in the context of meeting the needs of widening access.