 Judith Sephuma, the guest artist at the launch event
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Five-year milestone marked
The year 2009 marks an important milestone in the development of Unisa and it is only fitting that we should pause, take stock, acknowledge and celebrate what has been accomplished. In the relentless tide of institutional change fostered from within the institution and energised by developments from outside, it is all too easy to lose sight of the many and remarkable achievements that have marked our journey thus far, as we move inexorably to becoming a dynamic open distance learning institution.
The National Plan for Higher Education (2001) set out an ambitious agenda for the restructuring of higher education in South Africa through a highly contested and quite fraught process of policy development. The first indelible imprint on the new higher education landscape was a series of mergers that would reduce the number of higher education institutions from 36 to 23, the main aims being to ensure a more equitable distribution of higher education facilities and resources, create a greater critical mass of personnel and capacities, and to introduce a new institutional type - comprehensives. The six comprehensive institutions would offer both academic and vocational tertiary qualifications. On 1 January 2004, the new University of South Africa was established as the single dedicated distance education and comprehensive institution in South Africa.
"These past five years have borne witness to a quite remarkable transition," says Prof Barney Pityana, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, in his message in the publication that has been produced to mark the remarkable transformation that has taken place in the university. "Armed only with a set of guidelines and a determination and commitment to succeed, Unisa’s Executive Management have led this mega institution through what is widely acknowledged as one of the most successful mergers in higher education. In 2009, five years on, the only enduring characteristic of the former Unisa is its historic edifice on the Tshwane landscape --- and even that is undergoing a dramatic change!”
The publication will be launched on Monday 20 April 2009. "On one level it provides a fascinating insight into the complexities involved in the restructuring process, and on another it offers up evidence of the kind of perseverance that is required to drive that process. It is at once a celebration of achievement and a fitting testament to the ability of ordinary South Africans to work together for a greater good," extolls Prof Pityana. |
