By: Solomzi Tshona
The generation of 1976 took to the streets driven by a strong sense of patriotism. The odds were stuck against them. However, they had a solid mission that they wanted to fulfil, a mission they went on to successfully fulfil. They not only fought for the right to education but the right to inclusive education. Epistemology, when given the right method becomes a success. The 1976 generation sacrificed their lives to better the future of generations to come
Most of the beneficiaries of the sacrifice are the current faces of the South African corporate. They are decision makers. Some are serving in senior positions in the South African government. One might want to celebrate the inclusion of individuals of color in senior positions, both of the corporate sector and the public sector but that’s not all that needs to be done. The growth of this statistic has been far from impressive. It would seem that the corporate is in actual fact losing senior managers of color. The public sector on the other seems to have unfairly and harshly lost trust in black managers.
Currently, the education system indoctrinates the youth to overly rely on employment for brighter future. It does little to groom the youth for the business fraternity. The South African economy is in dire need of innovative entrepreneurs. The curriculum should speak to this urgent need and produce dynamic graduates that are equally employable and can also make the cut in the business fraternity. As it is, there is a huge mismatch between the needs of the country and the product produced by the curriculum. The curriculum is stuck with past time rigid and redundant content that fails to teach graduates flexibility.
There is currently a lot of talk by the government of pushing the youth into the lucrative technology business. The government is putting a lot of effort into ushering the fourth industrial revolution. Just like any revolution, the fourth industrial revolution is disruptive. New opportunities will be created in as much as existing opportunities will become obsolete. The government seems to be ready only for the new opportunities and does not have a plan to dealing with the loss of opportunities that will be brought about by the fourth industrial revolution.
The shape of the 2015 student uprising was in two folds, the one was for free education and the other for the transformation of the higher education sector to be more inclusive, accommodative and affirmative. The victory, if it still is, of free education as it was announced is welcomed but as a process towards quality free, decolonized and inclusive education. It is sad to see some of the gains from the bravery of the 2015 generation being reversed by a higher education sector that is run on a business model to serve a public good.
The higher education sector needs an overhaul of its modus operandi. It seems to have lost its position in society as the most potent tool to redressing the imbalances of the past that continue to haunt people of color with generational poverty. The higher education sector as it stands is misaligned with people who need it most, the historically disadvantaged. There is a worrying demarcation of the higher education sector between historically disadvantaged institutions that are dominated by the less privileged and prestigious universities that are dominated by the privileged and historically advantaged class of society. Unfortunately, and catastrophically, the labour market further discriminates graduates from historically disadvantaged institutions against their counterparts from the elite institutions.
Photo by Wikipedia
Article written by Solomzi Tshona, on his personal capacity. Solomzi Tshona is a Member of the South African Youth Council and a member of the African National Congress in Alfred Nzo Region
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