The development and role of the Qwa-Qwa campus of the University Of the North, 1982-1998: a historical case study
Loading...
Date
1999
Authors
Semela, Mokena Stephen
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
The Universities are European institutions. It is the product of Europe's High Middle Ages, 12th and 13th centuries. It has developed and transmitted scientific and scholarly knowledge and developed from Christian schools.¹ In the process of developing universities lost their semi-spirituality and more and more were seen as institutions that could make a direct contribution to the acceleration of economic growth or the promotion of social justice. Knowledge itself was seen as the primary product of higher education not students.² The modern university however, is not concerned with the knowledge only, but is more closely interrelated with its surroundings, it is part of the context in which it operates. According to Khotseng³, the point of university education is not for knowledge's sake or providing elitist education to the selected few, but for the broad requirements of improving the quality of life of all people in the society. ⁴ The best universities are those which strove for excellence in teaching, expertise and research at an international level as well as within the communities they serve. The universities in South Africa owed their origin to pioneer efforts of private citizens rather than state initiative. They are not state institutions but state-aided. In establishing its own system of university education South Africa has followed the practice of those countries which have mfuirnized the exercise of state power at the university level. Each university is a corporate body established by an Act of Parliament which endows the Council with general control of all the affairs of the university.⁵ The post-apartheid era in South Africa and the advent of reconstruction and development campaigns have ushered in a revitalised interest in universitycommunity interaction. The South African universities are now transforming their roles within an emerging socio-economic and cultural milieu. This era sees the universities reaching out to millions of citizens. By so doing they are becoming community-centred institutions whose existence and relevance are to be determined by the manner in which they respond to the needs of their catchment areas. This process of change has brought into focus the crucial importance of the university's role in society and the societal clairvoyance of the university. In a quintessence the functions of the university should be guided by societal needs and the specific national actuality.
Description
Dissertation (M.A.(History))--University of the Free State, 1999
Keywords
Education Higher, South Africa, Qwaqwa, History, 20th century, Universities and colleges