Introduction – Part I

Curriculum stasis, funding and the

‘decolonial turn’ in universities – inclusion

and exclusion in higher education in South

Africa

Jonathan Jansen and Shireen Motala

The crisis faced by higher education systems and institutions across the world
is urgent. The sharp and consistent decline in public funding, the pressure for
rapid expansion, contests over worthwhile knowledge, concerns about social
and economic responsiveness, demands for greater accountability, and
increased competition for high quality students, are only some of its features.

Against this backdrop, in 2015 and 2016, universities in South Africa faced a
number of strikes and protests which highlighted issues of institutional
culture, equitable access, black identity, racial inequality, intersectionality and
curriculum relevance. This particular conjuncture has forced us to rethink
theory, research and practice. The nature of the protests brought difficult and
uncomfortable questions to the fore. Twenty years since the end of apartheid,
has curriculum and knowledge production been ‘decolonised’? Have our lofty
discourses and policies on governance, institutional autonomy, academic
freedom and social justice translated into effective strategies and practices,
and transformed higher education? What are the implications of the shifts in
the student movement from 2015 to 2016, from a broad and diverse
movement united across race, class and gender, to highly politicised
formations which are using different sets of strategies, including direct
action?

Competing positions are clearly evident with regard to the meanings of
equitable access, free education, and university education for all. In fact the
macro economic framework for education funding has itself come under
increasing scrutiny, as has the unresolved matter of institutional
differentiation. Furthermore, whether the state’s steering and accountability
mechanisms can be reconciled with institutional autonomy and academic
freedom remains an open question. More broadly, how does the advancement



2        Journal of Education, No. 68, 2017

of knowledge through research, teaching and learning respond to global
challenges without neglecting local complexities, particularly in a context of
poverty, unemployment, disease and conflict? 

The purpose of this Special Issue is to deepen our understanding of the
current crisis in higher education through sustained and critical analyses of
the problems of funding, knowledge and institutional change in South African
universities.

This Introduction is divided into two parts: Jonathan Jansen begins with an
overview of the first set of articles, providing critical discussion on
curriculum stasis, decolonisation and knowledge production. Shireen Motala
follows with an overview of the second set of articles, on funding and
resourcing, and uses an equity lens to critically consider current debates on
#Fees must fall.

Professor Jonathan Jansen
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
Stanford University
USA

jj@ufs.ac.za

Shireen Motala
Professor in the Faculty of Education
Senior Director: Research and Innovation
Postgraduate School
University of Johannesburg

smotala@uj.ac.za

mailto:jj@ufs.ac.za
mailto:smotala@uj.ac.za