JONATHAN JANSEN: Why SA's universities are sliding down the slippery slope
A leading research university held exams in a tent on a sports field surrounded by barbed wire‚ patrol guards and attack dogs
Look closely. Slowly but surely the academic and organisational cultures of our universities are being broken down in front of our very eyes. This breakdown is being ruthlessly executed by the narrow interests of political parties who really do not give a damn about the future of higher learning in our country. Since 2015‚ these parties decided that there were two primary spaces in which to contest each other politically: in parliament and on campuses.With President Jacob Zuma effectively on his way out‚ political theatrics in parliament are now much less attractive than tens of thousands of students descending on campuses for college and university registration. Zuma started the rot when he opportunistically decided to announce free higher education as the ruling party entered its elective conference last month. This irresponsible decision flew in the face of the president’s own commission‚ led by Judge Jonathan Heher‚ which studied the feasibility of free higher education and conc...
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