Address by the Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Blade Nzimande at the Installation of Dr Johann Rupert as Chancellor of Stellenbosch University
18 February 2010
Programme Director, Mr. Mohammed Shaik
Honourable Minister Trevor Manuel
Premier of the Western Cape, Ms Hellen Zille
Mayor of Stellenbosch, Mr. Cyril Jooste
Chancellors present
Vice Chancellor of Stellenbosch University, Professor Russel Botman
Members of Council of Stellenbosch University
Vice Chancellors and Deputy Vice Chancellors of our higher education institutions
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It is a great honour for me to be invited to offer a congratulatory message at this special function of the inauguration of Dr Johann Rupert as Chancellor of Stellenbosch University.
Dr Johann Rupert is a distinguished South African business leader and entrepreneur. Having studied Company Law and Economics at this institution many years back, Dr Rupert has traversed the journey from student to Chancellor and in a sense has completed a full circle. Programme Director, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest welcome to Dr Rupert and congratulate you, Sir, on your appointment as the 14th Chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch.
Dr Rupert, my Department wishes you the greatest of success in your appointment and is looking forward to work with you and the leadership of Stellenbosch University, in addressing some of the pertinent challenges that confront our higher education institutions today. It is in the working together that we can forge new paths and find ways to advance the goals of access, equity and success meaningfully.
This university is one of our prime assets in the higher education sector with respect to research and scholarly excellence. Additionally, the university has made its mark on the international arena with the wealth of the institution i.e. your academics and researchers achieving honours and accolades in various disciplines. This reputation remains an asset for South Africa as a whole and needs to be maintained.
I have noted and from my conversations with many that the university remains a place for vociferous debate as it seeks its identity and grapples with critical issues. Some of these challenges were inevitable, given the long history of separation, unequal re-sourcing of our institutions along racial lines and silo development that characterized our sector.
Issues of transformation and social responsiveness remain on the table and will require courage, conviction and the will to interrogate from all perspectives. In June last year, I released the report in Racism and Discrimination in our sector. This report, Honourable Chancellor was made available to all institutions. I urged institutions to debate this report within their institutions prior to responding to me. I raise this as it is daunting to note that the journey required to achieve our shared goals is not complete as yet.
These challenges require a frank and open engagement by all of us, as government, university management and council, the alumni, and the entire higher education community. Since 1994 we have made a commitment as a country that the doors of learning shall be opened to all people of South Africa irrespective of race, gender or creed. We remain true to this commitment as we continue to tackle the challenges and impediments that prevent us from realizing this noble ideal.
I have, previously, in my engagement with the higher education community, raised issues such as certain institutional cultures which continue to be impediments to effective learning and success rate of many of our learners. They even become barriers to foreign students and academics, thereby closing development opportunities that arise from scholarship exchanges. It is not the role of government alone to make sure that our institutions become spaces where all of our students feel welcomed and accommodated in all aspects of university life. The institutions themselves should be proactive and take initiatives to create a culturally and intellectually enriching experience for all its members, particularly the students.
It is the responsibility of institutions to promote equity of access and fair chances of success to all who are seeking to realize their potential through higher education.
The White Paper 3: A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education (1997), and the National Plan for Higher Education (2001) foreground the promotion of democratic ethos and the culture of human rights, as central to the role of education in general and higher education in particular. These policy documents spell out that, our educational programmes and practices should not only be conducive to the imparting of critical discourse and intellectual stimulation, but should also promote the culture of tolerance of diversity, and commitment to a humane, non-racist and non-sexist order.
Universities are thus, not just intellectual spaces, but cultural spaces as well. As such, they inculcate values in students. These values do not only reflect the values of the society as a whole, but also shape them.
Despite having achieved so much as the university in your effort to be counted among the great in the country and the efforts that you have made towards transformation, there is still a challenge which is to translate your initiatives and achievements into an institutional culture that is fully inclusive, diverse, and truly South African.
The institution's language policy expresses the intent to move towards multilingualism - in particular to play a critical role in the promotion of English and isiXhosa as mediums of instruction alongside Afrikaans. Some of your faculties have also moved towards parallel medium of instruction. In doing this, let us not miss the opportunity, which defines scholarship, that, which sees research opportunity in the midst of addressing a challenge.
For instance, why should we not be at the forefront of multilingualism, parallel medium of instruction, dual or multiple languages of teaching, research and learning, and so on, because we are exposed to many languages within the country, let alone foreign languages? It should also be borne in mind that that the overwhelming majority of students in South Africa are taught in their second language, English, and we need to consider the impact of this fact on access and success rates.
There seems to be a perception that government wants to do away with Afrikaans as language of teaching and learning. Our position has been consistently clear that all official languages in South Africa including Afrikaans should enjoy parity of esteem as stipulated by the constitution of the country. Our Language Policy for Higher Education gives recognition to Afrikaans as a language of scholarship and research, and states very clearly that as such, the language should be treated as a national asset, and be preserved accordingly. What the Policy objects to, is the tendency to use Afrikaans as a barrier for access of non-speakers of the language. As such, we will continue to engage those who seek to do so, to remind them of our commitment and undertaking to make education accessible to all South Africans.
In conclusion, I hope Chancellor, Dr Rupert, the challenges that I am raising will not prove daunting as you take up your rightful place in the history of this institution, because we need you in the sector. I trust that, as alumni of this institution, you are in a privileged position to understand the issues and some of the challenges that the institution faces. You are now part of us as the higher education community and we are looking forward to your leadership and ideas on how we can take our higher education system to greater heights and overcome some of the challenges that continue to draw us back.
My Department welcomes you, and is looking forward to a constructive and mutually enriching engagement with you. Congratulations Chancellor.
I thank you
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