Thabo Mbeki (former South African president and Patron of TMALI) delivered the keynote address at the launch of volumes 5 and 6 of The road to democracy in South Africa.

Universities are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that relevant and accurate research and education reach the masses. On Freedom Day 2013, Unisa further solidified its role in this regard when it hosted the launch of volumes 5 and 6 of The road to democracy in South Africa series.

Former South African president and patron of Unisa’s Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI), Thabo Mbeki, and the country’s deputy president, Kgalema Motlanthe, were amongst the dignitaries who attended the launch.

Mbeki delivered the keynote address while Motlanthe accepted the last two volumes of the series on behalf of government.

Investigating what shaped the present

The launch was especially significant for Unisa as this year the university celebrates 140 years of shaping futures in Africa. It is therefore conscious of the importance of research that documents the journey the country and continent have travelled to attaining freedom. Now, as the university looks to its future – where it aims to be a leading centre of African knowledge production – it is also mindful of the role it has to play in ensuring its research, teaching and learning and community engagement speak to the very essence of what this book series represents.

The road to democracy in South Africa series, published by Unisa Press, is a chronological analysis of four decades of South African history. It is a project of the South African Democracy Education Trust (SADET). Volume 1 covers the events spanning 1960 to 1970, volume 2 deals with the years between 1970 and 1980, volume 3 focuses on international solidarity, and volume 4 covers the period from 1980 to 1990. Volume 5 focuses on African solidarity, while volume 6 (in two volumes) covers the period between 1990 and 1996.

Giving a true account

Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Mandla Makhanya, said the university prided itself on being part of this important project since the institution’s forward-looking vision was aimed at becoming the African university in the service of humanity.

He said while the history of the struggle had been told in different ways, at different times and, often, for different motives, the synergy between SADET and Unisa was predicated on the common understanding that without a true and intellectual account of the struggle and its contractions, captured by the people who were prepared to give their life and limb for its ultimate outcome, freedom from oppression and freedom from want and hunger, the story remained patchy and organically incomplete.

Dr Essop Pahad (Chairman of the South African Democracy Education Trust) with Kgalema Motlanthe.

Thabo Mbeki (former SA president and Patron of TMALI) with Kgalema Motlanthe (South African deputy president).

“History must be recorded – be it orally or in writing – and equally importantly, preserved. And this is where the role of the university is so important. The core function of a university is the generation of new knowledge, but inevitably that process relies on a thorough interrogation and evaluation of existing knowledge, which not only offers context, but also the opportunity to prove or disprove, accept or reject, or compromise. It is a process of accretion that contributes to the richness of the national and global dialogue and canon,” he said.

Naming the new enemy

The VC said that previously South African history was informed and influenced predominantly by a western paradigm that reflected the hegemonic power relations that shaped the country and continent’s past. “We cannot allow them to similarly inform our future, especially since history can become revered and followed dogmatically, irrespective of its genuine merit, and often with serious and far-reaching consequences.”

This is where African and South African universities, and in particular, Unisa, had a fundamental role to play. “History is not simply the plaything of bored academics,” said the VC. ”The consequences of its unquestioned inculcation are in the real world of classrooms and the real lives of teachers and children. We know this all too well. And knowing that, we are obliged to ensure that our history is told first-hand, by those Africans who made and lived it.”

Looking to the future, the VC said with the fundamental objective of political liberation being achieved, the fundamental task ahead was to name the new enemy, and carefully to attune competencies collectively and severally as new challenges were tackled. “As a university, we are at a point where we say that we can no longer afford to be mere interpreters of what others said and did not say about us. It is our time to place on record for all to see what we say about our past and how that past influences what we are doing on our way forward. At this very important juncture in the history of Unisa, we take pleasure in the fact that, perhaps for the first time in 140 years, the futures that we will be shaping will be informed by knowledge that we have generated and recorded – it is a matter of great pride.”

Capturing history accurately

Motlanthe acknowledged the authors of the series, saying it was very difficult to write contemporary history, because the temptation for embellishment was always great. These scholars, he said, were able to structure and craft the stories told by many of those active in the liberation struggle. “To collect those stories and present them in a usable form is of great value. It will be of value to generations to come, to those who will try to understand how we were able to navigate our way, and find a solution to the intractable problem of apartheid and racial discrimination.”

In explaining the importance of The road to democracy in South Africa series, Mbeki spoke of incidents during the liberation struggle that were captured in the various volumes. He said the history presented in these volumes forced people to ask fundamental questions. “We have a chapter that discussed national pride and the changing of minds. We talk about national unity, national cohesion, shared patriotism; are we there? Have the minds changed? I think we must ask these questions. We must ask questions about women’s emancipation. Where are we with regard to this important matter?

“Indeed, how far have we advanced with regards to this struggle reflected in these books? Where are we? I think we need to ask these questions and look at them critically and I think this history that is told here will at least say when everybody engaged in this struggle to bring about change, it has achieved its objectives. Having said that, we must then answer the questions: what progress have we made, what obstacles have we experienced, what do we do?”

Mbeki said it was important to make this history accessible to many people, and a project to produce “more popular” versions of the books to be available in schools will begin soon. He also referred to Oscar-winning movie director Steven Spielberg, who, from what he had read, believed the South African story needed to be recorded and shared. The director has offered South Africa the use of software that collates interactive interviews as used during the making of Schindler’s List, a 1993 motion picture he directed and co-produced, which tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories.

Programme director, Chairman of the SADET board and former Minister in the Presidency, Dr Essop Pahad, thanked board members and all those who had contributed to the production of The road to democracy in South Africa series. There was also a special tribute to the late Professor Bernard Makhosonke Magubane, who was initially given the task of managing this project and producing the volumes.

Shocked and saddened by Magubane’s untimely passing, the Unisa VC said that his legacy was of incalculable value for those generations who would be building upon the genuinely African knowledge foundations that had been laid in the production of these volumes, and would always be valued.

Unisa hosted the launch together with SADET, Nedbank and MTN. In addition to the launch, as part of the university’s Freedom Day celebrations, the university hosted a public dialogue on the Freedom Charter as a living document on the Friday preceding Freedom Day.

* Article by Rivonia Naidu-Hoffmeester

The Freedom Charter is the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the ANC and its allies – the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People’s Congress.

By offering a platform for critical discourse on the very document notable for its demand and commitment to a non-racial South Africa, Unisa seeks to challenge prevailing presumptions and encourage ongoing conversations within the sociopolitical space. The first public dialogue planned as part of the project Credo: A musical testament to the Freedom Charter, and dealing with the history and legacy of the charter, took place on 26 April 2013, titled, The Freedom Charter as a living document.

The dialogue featured a panel of leading speakers: Prof Raymond Suttner, part-time Professor: Rhodes University and Emeritus Professor: Unisa; Dr Essop Pahad, former Minister in the Presidency and Editor-in-Chief of The Thinker magazine; Brigitte Mabandla, former Minister of Justice; and Jabulani Sithole, Lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Adopted in Kliptown on 26 June 1955, the Freedom Charter was the culmination of a long nation-wide, non-racial political consultative process among the diverse constituent members of the South African Congress Alliance, which included the African National Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats, the South African Indian Congress and the Coloured Peoples’ Congress. It is characterised by its opening demand, The people shall govern.

According to Suttner, “We do not treat its significance as obvious. For there to be democratic debate, we cannot treat most things as obviously desirable and necessary. Indeed issues which we debate around the Freedom Charter are not the same today as in 1955 or in the 1980s. Nor can anyone give an authoritative or final interpretation of the Freedom Charter.” He believes the words of the charter have to be contextualised in the context of its emancipatory, liberatory, broad vision.

The dialogue accompanies a multimedia musical production, Credo: A musical testament to the Freedom Charter, based on a text from the Freedom Charter. The oratorio, commissioned by Unisa, was composed by Bongani Ndodana and is a musical expression that echoes the social vision enshrined in the Freedom Charter. Through the project, Unisa is also prompting society to engage in a conversation about the values embodied in this historic declaration

An untidy document

Suttner regards the Freedom Charter as an untidy document, unlike the South African Constitution. On one hand it reflected, very specifically, on qualities of apartheid depression, which people wanted removed. On the other hand, it is a broad human rights document; in many ways, an advanced international human rights document of the time. What he also deems important is that the Freedom Charter, in contrast to the Defiance Campaign, was a movement away from rejection towards an outline of an alternative vision which the people of South Africa wanted.

Suttner believes that “Achieving representative democracy through the first election was a great victory but the people were and are, no longer directly present, but represented by what some have considered or called, ‘the people’s government’. It may be what has been called the movement from popular nationalism to state nationalism.”

Suttner’s objective throughout the dialogue was to throw up the meaning of the injunction, The people shall govern. “I’m not suggesting that the constitutional gains made since 1994 must be repudiated in favour of direct democracy. What I’m saying, while popular power may be outside of constitutional provisions and institutions, it is not antagonistic to these; in fact, in is an enrichment of the lie of the democracy that we have, and it is in no way compatible to have popular empowerment as well,” he says.

Making reference to the Freedom Charter where it states South Africa shall strive to maintain world peace and settlement of all international disputes by negotiation, not war, Pahad said, “This is an exceptionally profound statement to make in 1955 and this statement remains true today. What we want to do is to resolve international disputes by negotiations and not war. You must remember that this statement was made at a time when the cold war was at its height.”

Most powerful solidarity anti-apartheid movement

Pahad agreed with Suttner that central to the Freedom Charter is the notion of the people. “And when we today say that the people must be their own liberators, that’s what we mean,” he explained. In his view, “What we did was we built an international anti-apartheid movement that remains the most powerful solidarity movement ever seen in the history of the world. You won’t find another more powerful international solidarity movement than the anti-apartheid movement that we helped to build.”

Reverend Welcome Methula (Department of Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology, Unisa) doesn’t believe in the Freedom Charter, saying “It only reduces the struggle of South African politics to the glory of the ANC, to the undermining of the religious formation, political and cultural institutions, which played a critical role in the struggle against apartheid and colonialism.”

Reduces the struggle of SA politics to the glory of the ANC

However criticism of the Freedom Charter remains. Reverend Welcome Methula, of the Department of Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology, Unisa, believes that the charter has distorted the history of South Africa. “It has premised on three significant histories, 1952, 1912 and 1994, and therefore it does not say anything about the achievements that were made during that historical period. It only reduces the struggle of South African politics to the glory of the ANC, to the undermining of the religious formation, political and cultural institutions that played a critical role in the struggle against apartheid and colonialism.”

Methula is deeply disappointed that, “To this very day, the Freedom Charter is still doing a lot of injustice to many black poor people. It is still legalising our landlessness. To this very day, the ANC has not built a university post 1994, it has not opened a bank. All that’s been done is that we should be co-opted to those who are from Europe. So I have a problem with the Freedom Charter because it is a gross misrepresentation of the African struggles for liberation,” he exclaimed.

Development of African middle class an important shift

Pahad hit back at Methula, saying, “Don’t ask us to do your work for you. It’s not my job to talk about other political movements. Whether or not the present policies of the government are just in support of the middle classes, that’s for you to decide. If your approach is going to be so narrowly defined by a class approach, you won’t understand.” Adding to his argument, Pahad said, “The growth and development of the African middle class in South Africa has been a very important change and shift in the socioeconomic climate of our country. And you need to understand that that was a demonstrable shift from the policies of apartheid. Obviously we, at that time, and the present administration, still have a long way to go to meet some of the most pressing needs and challenges of our people. And that’s what we have to do. But to do that, I think, we in the end require the active involvement of the masses of our people. If our policies and the implementation of our policies exclude or marginalise the masses of our people, then we’re not going to succeed in what we want to do.”

A panel of leading speakers at the first public dialogue planned as part of the project Credo: A musical testament to the Freedom Charter, and dealing with the history and legacy of the Freedom Charter, featured, standing, Jabulani Sithole (Lecturer: University of KwaZulu Natal), Dr Essop Pahad (former Minister in the Presidency and Editor-in-Chief: The Thinker magazine); and Prof Mandla Makhanya (Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Unisa); and seated, Prof Raymond Suttner (part-time Professor: Rhodes University and Emeritus Professor: Unisa) and Brigitte Mabandla (former Minister of Justice)

*Article by Kirosha Naicker

Nelson Mandela, a Unisa alumnus who graduated while at Robben Island, became the first president of democratic South Africa.

If you were old enough to remember, you will never forget the image of millions of South Africans who queued for hours all over the country to cast their vote in the country’s first democratic elections on 27 April 1994. As the 19th anniversary of the day that South Africa became a democracy approaches, there will be much reflection on the democratic gains or losses of that period, and the road that led the country to that point and beyond. As the University of South Africa, the role that this university has played in that journey has to be emphasised and acknowledged as we prepare to celebrate Freedom Day.

Freedom Day 2013 is a special one for Unisa as the university not only celebrates providing quality education to South Africans, but also celebrates 140 years of doing so. Even when most avenues of study were closed to the majority of South Africans, Unisa ensured there was still one road to higher learning. Famous struggle heroes, as well as many other unsung heroes who sacrificed their freedom, were able to pursue higher learning through Unisa. Armed with knowledge, they then went on to become leaders who influenced the kind of transformation required for this country – some of them continue to do so even today.

Such leaders include, amongst others, ZK Matthews, who assisted in drawing up the Freedom Charter in 1955, Unisa’s current Chancellor, Judge Bernard Ngoepe, who was a member of the committee that drafted the Constitution in 1996, and Nelson Mandela, a Unisa alumnus who graduated while at Robben Island and became the first president of a democratic South Africa.

Zachariah Keodirelang (ZK) Matthews who assisted in drawing up the Freedom Charter in 1955.

Unisa Chancellor Judge Bernard Ngoepe was a member of the committee that drafted the Constitution in 1996.

As Unisa acknowledges 140 years of shaping futures in Africa this year, it also celebrates its future where it aims to be a leading global centre of excellence in science and research, and a university that continues to produce adept graduates who can lead the country and continent in development and transformation. Unisa’s Freedom Day celebrations therefore acknowledge its remarkable contributions to South Africa while simultaneously honouring the road to democracy.

Celebrations begin on Friday, when the university hosts a public dialogue on the Freedom Charter as a living document. Panellists participating in the dialogue include former Minister in the Presidency, Dr Essop Pahad, Unisa Professor, Raymond Suttner, former Minister of Justice, Brigitte Mabandla, and Jabulani Sithole who will focus on youth and the Freedom Charter.

As the struggle for freedom reached a new intensity in the early fifties, there was a need for a clear statement on the future of South Africa. The idea of a Freedom Charter was born, and the Congress of the People Campaign was initiated. Read more at SA History

The dialogue accompanies a multimedia musical production, Credo: A musical testament to the Freedom Charter, based on a text from the Freedom Charter. The oratorio, commissioned by Unisa, was composed by Bongani Ndodana and is a captivating musical expression that echoes the social vision enshrined in the Freedom Charter. Through Credo, Unisa is also prompting society to engage in a conversation about the values embodied in this historic declaration.

In addition to the festivities of Credo, Unisa will on Saturday, together with the South African Democracy Education Trust (SADET), Nedbank and MTN, host the launch of the fifth and sixth volumes of The Road to Democracy in South Africa. Thabo Mbeki, former South African President and Patron of Unisa’s Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI), will deliver the keynote address. South African Deputy President, Kgalema Motlanthe will also attend the book launch and receive the two volumes on behalf of the government.

The Road to Democracy series is a chronological analysis of four decades of South African history: Volume 1 covers the events spanning 1960 to 1970; Volume 2 deals with the years between 1970 and 1980; Volume 3 focuses on international solidarity; and Volume 4 covers the period from 1980 to 1990. Volume 5 focuses on African solidarity; and Volume 6 (in two volumes) covers the period between 1990 and 1996.

* Article by Rivonia Naidu-Hoffmeester

Shaping another future. Dr Blade Nzimande (Minister of Higher Education and Training) places the hood on his son, Nkululeko, who completed his Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science (Hons BCompt) as Prof Mogege Mosimege (Registrar) looks on.

When Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Blade Nzimande did a recent walkabout at Unisa, there was a concerted effort to highlight the great efforts being made by the institution to reshape the education landscape. But another important factor has, perhaps, already shown that the minister is confident about Unisa’s teaching credentials.

Among the numerous graduates during a ceremony held on 3 April 2013, the start of the university’s autumn graduations, was minister Nzimande’s son, Nkululeko, who has completed his Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science (Hons BCompt).

Nkululeko was originally at a contact university but wanted to take his qualifications further while being able to work at the same time. “Unisa was a different experience to a residential university that I was at before. I wanted to start work, I really wanted to get into it and try studying part time. It has worked well for me. Having to communicate via email and over the phone with the academics accentuated some of the skills I needed for the workplace. Things like my writing skills, explanations over the phone, so it really was a different experience but it worked out really well,” he says.

Coming from a strong teaching background, Dr Nzimande recognises the value of hard work and a good education. An industrial psychology student, he was awarded his PhD for a thesis in the field of personnel management and has served as a lecturer and teacher in number of institutions and schools. He was delighted with his son’s achievements and gave Unisa his seal of approval. “It’s a very exciting evening for me and my family that my son is graduating and getting his honours in accounting science; it’s very important. He’s graduating in one of our public universities and we’re very confident about the quality of the programmes here. In a way this is setting an example for other parents,” the minister says.

Despite having big shoes to fill, given his father’s credentials, Nkululeko is adamant that he will carve out his own success. “It’s an experience and quite rewarding to get such recognition but my aim is to get him recognition because of my achievements and not me getting recognition because of his. That’s what I’m working towards and I’m going to continue studying,” he says.

Taking higher education to new heights. From left; Prof Mandla Makhanya (Principal and Vice-Chancellor), Dr Blade Nzimande (Higher Education Minister) and Judge President Bernard Ngoepe (Chancellor).

*Written by Rajiv Kamal

In 2013 Unisa celebrates 140 years of shaping the futures of students through teach and learning.

Image source: South African History Archive

It’s 25 June, 1955. A three-thousand strong contingent of activists from across the length and breadth of South Africa assembles in Kliptown, outside Johannesburg. The assembly is a response to an ANC-led campaign to organise all progressive forces into a united voice of the struggle for liberation – having identified the need for a clear statement on the future of South Africa.

Indeed, the assembly was the epitome of Africa’s rainbow nation, with activists of all races, religions, classes and ideologies (except the segregationists, of course) in attendance. Workers, peasants, priests, intellectuals, women, youth and students, to mention but a few, met and engaged as equals on the ideal of a future nation.

The next day, 26 June, 1955, the small town of Kliptown recorded its name in the annals of history, as it played midwife to the birth of the Freedom Charter – a vision for a united, non-racial and democratic South Africa.

Fast forward to 4 December 1996. The Constitutional Court adopts South Africa’s first democratic constitution. Hailed as one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, it includes in its text many of the demands and visions encapsulated in the Freedom Charter. And like the charter, it is a product of an intensive and inclusive consultation process, led for two years by a Constitutional Assembly comprising elected public representatives of all hues.

Following in the footsteps of the charter, it also emphasises the creation of an open society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights. It is the envy of many, and a cornerstone of the little miracle unfolding on the southernmost tip of Africa, a continent notorious for internecine conflicts.

Fast foward again… but this time to 26 March 2013. The setting is the Number Four Museum on Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, once notorious as a hell-hole of a prison for female political prisoners, but now an important national heritage site that “tells the story of our turbulent past and our transition to democracy”.

Unisa and Pina Ya Thari, a production company created to give expression to Africa’s creative arts and indigenous music forms, have called an assembly of media and art practitioners to officially announce a ground-breaking partnership aimed at celebrating and re-imagining the Freedom Charter and the ideals it espouses.

The partnership will, it emerged, occur through an innovative multimedia oratorio about the charter, a joint stage performance created by Bongani Ndodana-Breen (music), Brent Meersman (libretto) and Andrew Black (multimedia).

Produced by renowned radio personality Brenda Sisane, it will feature such notable musicians as the multi-talented and dynamic Sibongile Khumalo, Otto Maidi, Monika Wassung, and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jonas Alber.

Called Credo: A musical testament to the Freedom Charter, the oratorio is a 67-minute production based on the unifying values embodied in the Freedom Charter and reflects the social vision enshrined in it.

Meersman had this to say: “Credo is a statement of personal beliefs, but perhaps it is often more a statement of our faith and hope. I had a deep need, one I share with many South Africans of my generation and younger, and hopefully of every generation to come, a need to connect with the spirit, the expression of idealism that our nation invested in the freedom charter.

In my poem I set myself the task, to attempt to distil in the simplest and fewest words, in the clearest human terms, in words as uncluttered as possible, the heart and bones of the Freedom Charter.

The charter was itself an act of extraordinary imagination, of the people’s imagination, to envisage a better more just world, and that act of the imagination created the vision we still have preserved somewhere within all of us as a nation because of that document.”

Speaking at the media launch, Bongani Ndodana-Breen said that he believed that South Africa had a historical and cultural obligation to share the legacy of the Freedom Charter with the world.

“Credo will be an important contribution to the growing body of 21^st century artistic work based on the struggles, triumphs and victories of the country’s turbulent history,” he said.

Delivering the keynote address, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Mandla Makhanya highlighted that Unisa’s involvement with the project is an integral part of the university’s 140 years celebrations, and emphasised that these celebrations should mirror not only the rich tapestry of Unisa’s academic offerings, but also the collective histories of those who teach and those who are taught at Unisa.

His address was an affirmation that this partnership was a homage to those who assembled in Kliptown 57 years ago to formulate the Freedom Charter as much as it was a celebration of the charter’s cultural, historical and social impact in the struggle for liberation and the role it would continue to play in shaping futures for generations to come.

“As the landscape in which we live changes and our country develops and transforms in line with the vision of our forebears, we are called upon to embrace creativity and innovation in charting the path to our futures, just as they did many decades ago,” he said.

The VC also said that Unisa was privileged by the opportunity to collaborate on the Credo project, as this would enable it to participate in the promotion of original South African music throughout the country, the continent and the world; the creation of jobs and performance opportunities for South African artists, ensuring continued training, development and skills transfer within the performing arts community; as well as promoting an understanding of South African political and cultural history.

Other key elements of the project are the schools and community education programme linked with it (running from April until July 2013), which fits in well with Unisa’s community outreach vision, as well as the planned series of public dialogues (on 26 April and 20 July 2013 respectively), which will seek to explore the challenging issues around the Freedom Charter, particularly looking at its relevance and significance almost two decades into our democracy.

As fate would have it, it would take a rare combination of a great African institution and a great moment in African history, with Unisa incidentally sharing a birthday with the Freedom Charter, together with the celebrated artistic genius of award-winning composer, conductor and opera producer, Bongani Ndodana-Breen, with the influence of two celebrated South Africans in their respective fields, wordsmith Brent Meersman and multimedia guru Andrew Black, to tell one of the greatest South African stories ever.

Credo’s opening performance, prior to spreading its wings worldwide, will be on 18 July 18 2013, a 67-minute display of artistic celebration coinciding with the birthday of the new South Africa’s founding father, Isithwalandwe Nelson Mandela and the international 67 Minutes for Mandela volunteer campaign.

The setting will be the ZK Matthews Hall at Unisa, named after the very man whom the Kliptown assembly trusted with the mammoth task of synthesising the final document to be later adopted as the Freedom Charter.

It has come full circle!

Prof Narend Baijnath (Pro-Vice-Chancellor), Bongani Ndodana-Breen (Composer), Prof Mandla Makhanya (Principal & Vice-Chancellor), Brent Meersman (Librettist) & Andrew Black (Multimedia) ©SuzyBernstein

Programme Director for the evening, Kgopedi oa Namane (Metro FM broadcaster) with Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng (Vice-Principal: Research and Innovation)

Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng, Vice-Principal: Research and Innovation, is not mincing her words on the portfolio’s stance on excellent research at Unisa. Congratulating the 56 researchers who were recognised in various prestigious categories, Phakeng was speaking at the Research and Innovation awards gala dinner on 14 March 2013.

“Let me make it clear, this research awards gala dinner is about excellence, not about acknowledging potential. There is a tendency in our society today to downplay excellence in favour of mediocrity. This is usually done unwittingly in interactions and considerations about equity, transformation and capacity development.

“There seems to be a perception among some of us in this country that excellence resides only in one group of people or a particular section of our society and thus an acceptance that we cannot deal with issues of equity, transformation and capacity development at the same time as we encourage and recognise excellence. My view is that we can and the achievements of our researchers at Unisa show exactly that,” said Phakeng with pride.

A large part of this platform was honouring all researchers who obtained NRF ratings at the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, and those who have recently joined Unisa.

The focus on research and innovation is now stronger than ever, more so because these disciplines are proving their worth by fulfilling critical social responsibilities. One cannot ignore that over the last 140 years, research at Unisa has followed a somewhat non-linear trajectory. Before it became a research institution in its own right, Unisa was, and in some ways, still is an incubator for research in Africa, with its magnificent library and its outstanding archives section. It’s easy to talk about the past, but Phakeng is incredibly confident that the research, innovation and postgraduate future of the university is bright. This is evident by the fact that 28.6% of the researchers recognised and awarded are below 40 years of age, giving them at least 25 more years before retirement. The challenge is to retain these researchers – one that Phakeng and her portfolio have taken up and are doing all they can to make sure these researchers stay and add value to Unisa.

Unisa is not just retaining its most valued researchers but keen to attract new ones. Pictured from right, Prof Narend Baijnath (Pro Vice-Chancellor), Prof David Glasser (an A1 rated scientist from the University of the Witwatersrand who joined Unisa’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology on 1 March 2013), Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng (Vice-Principal: Research and Innovation), Prof Diane Hildebrandt (B1 rated researcher from the University of the Witwatersrand who joined Unisa’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology on 1 March 2013) and Prof Mandla Makhanya (Principal and Vice-Chancellor)

Prof Mandla Makhanya, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Unisa, has given the portfolio generous encouragement in ensuring that this challenge is met. He says, “Not only does Unisa offer very generous encouragement and support – financial and otherwise – for our researchers, and especially our female researchers (young and black in particular) but we are also being really innovative in our intention to create spaces for our staff to conduct lengthier periods of research in environments away from their offices and their concomitant work responsibilities. While this will have a significant financial impact on the university – and I might add that the policy will be applied very judiciously – we believe that we will be making a very real and valuable contribution to the growth and development of research and innovation at Unisa and of course, the country at large.”

Among the researchers acknowledged for their NRF ratings was Prof David Glasser, an A1 rated scientist from the University of the Witwatersrand who joined Unisa on 1 March 2013. Glasser’s A1 rating is not new but it is new and exciting to this university.

As Unisa celebrates 140 years of shaping futures, it was fitting to invite some of those who have truly had their futures shaped and lives changed by this university. Despite his impoverished background, Maanda Ndou, an orphan, graduated with an honours degree in political science at Unisa in 2012 and is currently studying towards a masters degree. Ndou was a street kid and spent six years of his life before coming to Unisa staying at the Tshwane Child Welfare and Boys Town in Kagiso.

Esther Pory Mtshweni also got a chance at life while serving as a domestic worker for nine years. She decided to register or a BAdmin degree with Unisa, completed it in 2004 and went on to complete her honours in 2008 at Unisa. Mtshweni is currently completing her second honours degree in archival studies and hopes to graduate before the end of this year. “If there was no Unisa, Pory could still have been stuck in someone else’s kitchen cleaning and preparing lunchboxes while being paid, if she was lucky, a minimum wage of about R1 500 per month,” said Phakeng, highlighting the critical role this institution has played over the decades in changing lives for the better.

Award categories for the night included youngest women doctoral graduate for 2012, 2013 resilience in research women award, 2013 developing researcher women award, 2013 leadership in research women award, 2012 Principal’s award for excellence in research, Hiddingh-Currie award; and prestigious external research awards recognition.

• A dynamic team won the 2012 innovation award after being responsible for filing the first patent of a method and apparatus for treating a fluid. Winners: Prof Wei Hua Ho (College of Science, Engineering and Technology) and Prof Srinivasu Vallabhapurapu (College of Science, Engineering and Technology).
• The 2012/2013 Hiddingh-Currie award is given to authors of published works within Unisa Press. Worth R10 000, it encourages and nourishes specialised skills in academic research and scholarly publishing. The criteria of this award are that the work should be of an academic or artistic nature and of the highest quality. It should also contribute to the understanding or development of a discipline and also address a specific need or problem in society.
• The principal’s award for excellence in research is targeted at young and developing researchers not older than 35 years – young researchers or groups who have achieved academic research excellence of the highest quality as published in the preceding two years. The research cohort comprises of scholars who are generally in the minority throughout the national higher education system.
• The 2013 leadership in research women award is awarded to researchers who, in the last five years, have demonstrated their outstanding leadership in research by publishing widely, contributing to the advancement of research within their field, participating in the development of scholars through mentorship, providing supervision to a substantial number of postgraduate students, receiving recognition and awards in their fields as achievers and participating in community and/or industry engagement.
• The 2013 resilience in research women award is awarded to a researcher/s who, in the past three years, have succeeded in attaining a doctoral qualification in spite of extraordinary circumstances that would inhibit possible completion. The award celebrates the values, perseverance, commitment and singular dedication in the pursuit of academic goal.
• The 2013 women developing researcher award is aimed at acknowledging research and innovation excellence by Unisa’s women researchers and encourages new aspiring PhD candidates to become established researchers.

Unisa students, Maanda Ndou and Esther Pory Mtshweni flank Prof Phakeng. The VP is proud that these are just some examples of lives that have been shaped and changed because of the university.

The 2012/2013 Hiddingh-Currie award winners: Dr Jeremy Shearar for Against the world: South Africa and human rights at the United Nations and Dr Tlou Setumu for His story is history: Rural village future through the eyes of a rural village boy (Hidden Histories Series).

2012 innovation award winners: Prof Wei Hua Ho (College of Science, Engineering and Technology) and Prof Srinivasu Vallabhapurapu (College of Science, Engineering and Technology) are flanked by Prof Mandla Makhanya (Principal and Vice-Chancellor) and Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng (Vice-Principal: Research and Innovation)

The principal’s award for excellence in research winners, standing, Kunofiwa Tsaurai (College of Economic and Management Sciences), Dr Babatunde Fagbayibo (College of Law) and Prof Zenghui Wang (College of Science, Engineering and Technology) and sitting, Dr Puleng Segalo (College of Human Sciences). Not pictured, Prof Philip Stoop (College of Law).

Mirror images, Prof Jane Carruthers (College of Human Sciences) has done groundbreaking work on environmental history and Prof Jack Mphahlele (College of Science, Engineering and Technology), has focused extensively on organic chemistry. Both were acknowledged for receiving membership of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAf). Not pictured is Prof Alan Weinberg (College of Human Sciences) who received the same accolade.

Dr Veli Jiyane (College of Human Sciences) and Dr Matseliso Mokhele (College of Education) were awarded 2013 resilience in research women award.

Nomanesi Madiya (College of Education) and Dr Chrizell Churr (College of Law) each received the 2013 women developing researcher award.

Dr Elnerine Greeff (College of Human Sciences) was awarded for being the youngest women doctoral graduate for 2012.

2013 leadership in research women award winners: Prof Salome Schulze (College of Education), Prof Michelle Kelly-Louw (College of Law), Prof Marisa Keuris (College of Human Sciences), Prof Mari Jansen van Rensburg (College of Economic and Management Sciences), Prof Anna Hugo (College of Education) and Prof Judy van Biljon (College of Science, Engineering and Technology). Not pictured, Prof Laurette Pretorius (College of Graduate Studies), Prof Marilyn Naidoo (College of Human Sciences) and Prof Jeannie van Wyk (College of Law).

Mirror images, Prof Jane Carruthers (College of Human Sciences) has done groundbreaking work on environmental history and Prof Jack Mphahlele (College of Science, Engineering and Technology), has focused extensively on organic chemistry. Both were acknowledged for receiving membership of the Academy of Sciences of South Africa (ASSAf). Not pictured is Prof Alan Weinberg (College of Human Sciences) who received the same accolade.

2012 NRF B3-Rated Researchers – Prof Jaco Dreyer (College of Human Sciences) and Prof Jopie Pretorius (College of Law)

2012 NRF C1-Rated researchers – Prof Monga Luhandjula (College of Economic and Management Sciences), Prof Anneli Loubser (College of Law) and Prof Anthony de Villiers Minnaar (College of Law

2012 NRF Y2-Rated Researchers: Dr Jessica Murray (College of Human Sciences), Dr Wessel Bentley (College of Human Sciences), Prof Mpfari Budeli (College of Law) and Prof. Magdaleen Swanepoel (College of Law). Not pictured, Dr Samantha Gildenhuys (College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences) and Prof Yorick Hardy (College of Science, Engineering and Technology).

2012 NRF C3-Rated Researchers – Prof Duncan Hodge (College of Economic and Management Sciences), Prof Sabelo Ndlovu (College of Graduate Studies) and Prof Vuyisile Msila (College of Education). Not pictured, Dr Karendra Devroop (College of Economic and Management Sciences) Dr Paul Prinsloo (Professional and Administrative Research Group) Prof Linda Jewell (College of Science, Engineering and Technology) and Prof Micheal van Wyk (College of Education).

Krister Stendahl Medal in Biblical Studies: Prof Christo Lombaard (College of Human Sciences) for his book, The Old Testament and Christianity Spirituality, while Prof Eleanor Lemmer (College of Education) was awarded an Education of South Africa (EASA) research medal.

*Article by Kirosha Naicker and Rajiv Kamal

The giant canvases on Muckleneuk Campus, Pretoria.

Posters at the entrance of Unisa Muckleneuk Campus, Pretoria.

“The anniversary celebration themes will portray Unisa’s journey to become a premier provider of distance learning at present while it pursues the dream of being contextually relevant and leading edge in a predominantly digital future. Unisa will also continue to embrace the idea of creating a truly distinctive community and family of stakeholders, students and friends, as well as the foundations of a trailblazing spirit and character,” says Corporate Communication and Marketing Executive Director, Dr Marié Ferreira.

The 140 anniversary programme will entail activities and events that will involve all stakeholders wherever the university has a presence. Taking place throughout the year, the activities will range from producing special publications and presenting key public lectures and events, to academic colloquia, honorary graduation ceremonies including the conferment of honorary degrees, special awards and fundraising/friend-raising drives.”

Unisa Branding Manager, Marius Bosch, and acting Director for Electronic and Web Communication, Paul Mohajane, explain that the 140 logo will be applied to all communication media that have a life-span of less than a year. These range from special printed publications to the giant canvases on the Muckleneuk Campus, fence wraps at the main hubs throughout the country, roadside panels, advertisements, social media platforms, electronic banners, screensavers, e-mail signatures, the birthday countdown clock, and a dedicated 140 website that features Unisa’s history, stories by alumni, infographics, highlights from the media, and Unisapedia. Students will also be encouraged to use the logo. “This logo will be the golden thread throughout what we do this year,” said Bosch.

The 140 celebration website

Visit the 140 celebration website.

As 2013 marks the 140th year of Unisa’s existence, Prof Mandla Makhanya believes in anyone’s terms this means the institution has reached an age that should automatically command great respect

It would take a big cake to hold 140 candles as Unisa celebrates this time span of educational excellence. Unisa is now a ‘cente-quadra-generian’ university as Prof Mandla Makhanya (Principal and Vice-Chancellor) has tongue-twistedly coined it.

Let’s practise this now, as the VC has announced that 2013 will be dedicated to celebrating this landmark achievement. That’s right, the entire year!

The theme for the anniversary is 140 years of shaping futures to highlight how the university has helped ordinary South Africans achieve their dreams of obtaining quality education.

Makhanya explained that he had long pondered the significance of Unisa turning 140 years old. “I was considering the huge number of students who have passed through our doors over the past years. Unisa has graduated the rich and famous and the poor and famous, the rich and poor infamous, and the ordinary men and women whose commitment and diligence have enabled them to graduate from Unisa to go and do extraordinary things with their lives,” he said.

The historical significance of Unisa’s achievements over the years was something Makhanya also touched upon. He believes Unisa sets itself apart from others. ”In a country of opposites, disparity and diversity, Unisa has perhaps been the single constant. Unisa and those who have worked for her have served South Africa and its people as well as our continent, irrespective of their circumstance, faithfully for 140 years. I can think of no other institution that can make that claim,” he explained.

While speaking of the past glory and achievements, Makhanya clarified that setting goals for the future was of paramount importance. “It is Unisa’s performance as a graduator of quality graduates that will ensure its continued excellent reputation. Let us not falter in ensuring that we build on the wonderful legacy that has been left to us. Let us make our contributions to shaping futures!”

Visit the 140 celebration website.

*Article by Rajiv Kamal and Kirosha Naicker

By Professor Mandla Makhanya

How inferior is an education system that produces a President, a Nobel Laureate, or a Chief Justice? asked acclaimed jurist and Chancellor of the University of South Africa, Justice Bernard Ngoepe, at one of the university’s interactions with stakeholders last year.

This question, rhetorical as it is, provided food for thought for many of us in the audience, leaving us pondering whether, as practitioners in the education landscape in the country, we were doing enough to extol the virtues of open distance learning; and beyond that, of all forms of learning.

The question posed by the learned judge crossed my mind once again at the height of the tertiary education registration period early this year.  We witnessed during this period the entrenchment of a very disturbing phenomenon, where many of our people – young and old alike – are literally playing down the significant role played by some of our institutions of higher learning in the skilling of our nation; and by implication their strategic role in the  growth and development of our economy.

It struck me that many of our people who aspire to obtain an education, particularly recent matriculants, still labour under the misguided belief that one must first attempt to secure entry into contact universities; and only approach institutions such as Unisa and Further Education and Training (FET) colleges as a last resort.

Some of the scribes, who descended on various campuses during this period to experience firsthand what was unfolding there, went as far as carrying out on-the-spot quizzes amongst students on this issue; and their subsequent news reports confirmed the existence of this unfortunate belief.

Most recently, some of my colleagues attended an event where the Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Mr Mduduzi Manana, was interacting and sharing his perspective on the country’s higher education sector with stakeholders, most of whom were educators. Many were shocked and dismayed at the vote of no confidence given to some of our institutions of higher learning by the very educators in whose stewardship we have placed our children’s education; with the FET Colleges mostly bearing the brunt of their disdain.

Some were even brave enough to challenge the state to declare FET’s no-go areas for anybody who does not possess a matric, thereby denying entry to others, despite their desire to improve their education.  The argument they advance is that the current arrangement diminishes the quality and stature of the FET Colleges; as many matriculants are loathed to attend the same college as those who did not pass matric.

Quite frankly, this is a very simplistic way of looking at things and amplifies our failure as citizens to provide sufficient guidance to the young; or even get them to know, grasp and appreciate the extraordinary challenges faced by our teenage democracy.

Perhaps, in an ideal world, this could be an end-goal worthy of our attention. But we live in a real country with real challenges, especially the challenge of righting the wrongs of our dark history, where many of our people were denied access to education. As matters stand, this country is in dire need of skills, especially trade and technical ones, in order to address the so-called triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality.

Surely we must all be aware that our contact universities cannot be burdened with the sole responsibility of providing the solution to our educational challenges. Some of the skills required by the economy can best be provided by the FETs; whilst open distance learning has, over the years, proved itself as more than capable of supplying the economy with a well-trained and value-adding human resource.

In a country that desires social justice for those previously disadvantaged, it is simply prejudicial and grossly unfair to deny access to educational opportunities to citizens who are willing to be trained and skilled so that they can participate meaningfully in the mainstream economy, whether as providers of labour or as entrepreneurs. If we choose this high road to exclusivity, history will certainly judge us harshly.

The desire by some to denounce the current FET system purely on the basis that it has opened the doors of learning to a wider group of people, irrespective of their educational standing, is akin to throwing out the baby with the bath water. It also goes against the grain of one of the pillars of our freedom, the Freedom Charter, which declares boldly that the doors of learning shall be opened to all.

I can only but conclude that only those who do not take the time, nor the  effort, to learn about the country’s education landscape, including the role played by institutions such as Unisa, will have the temerity to question the value and quality of our higher education system.

It simply cannot be that the alma mater of former President Nelson Mandela, retired Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Judge, Pius Langa, current Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Judge Dikgang Moseneke, retired archbishop of the Anglican Church Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former Vice-Chancellor of University of Cape Town, Dr Mamphele Ramphele, Governor of the Reserve Bank, Ms Gill Marcus, the Chief Executive of First Rand Limited, Mr Sizwe Nxasana, Liberty group Chairman, Mr Saki Macozoma, the Chief Executive of Industrial Development Corporation, Mr Geoffrey Qhena and many other leaders in civil society, business and public life, has produced such extraordinary national and international icons on the basis of an inferior education.

The footprint of successes left by over half-a-million of our graduates in all walks of life  – in South Africa, Africa and the world at large – further confirms our status as the most productive university in South Africa, handing our economy access to approximately 34 000 graduates annually. If this does not represent an overwhelming vote of confidence in our offerings, then the sky is not blue.

It cannot be an accident of history that we are the largest university in South Africa and on the African continent; as well as carry the honour of one of the world’s mega-universities, with vocational and academic programmes that enjoy international accreditation.

I do not wish to also give the impression that all is well with our higher education system. One of our biggest challenges throughout the education system from primary to university is the need for a renewed focus on teaching and learning. In my opening of the 2013 academic year at Unisa, I do emphasise that our country is facing a teaching and learning crisis that is evidenced in low throughput and success rates. Teaching and learning must therefore become a priority for all of us. We need to reflect as institutions, teachers and policy makers, on our own work and the impact that it can and does have on our students. Similarly, students must also take greater responsibility and not squander the opportunities that are provided to them if we are to deliver more quality graduates for the economy.

In various policy documents on higher education, in particular the Draft Policy Framework for the Provision of Distance Education in South African Universities, our own government has acknowledged open distance learning as an integral part of the post-school system in South Africa; and Unisa as a leading institution in this regard.

As the only dedicated open distance learning university in the country, with 140 years experience in the field, we remain committed to using this experience to help our country, our people and government to shape our education system into a desirable state; and to put our shoulder to the wheel as part of the national drive to provide South Africa with a well-trained citizenry.

This year, Unisa will celebrate 140 years of pioneering and leading the distance education landscape in the country. We will use the occasion of our celebration as a time to also renew our commitment as a university and a responsible corporate citizen to continue our mission of shaping futures.

I challenge South Africans from all walks of life to embrace education as the key area of life that we must all give attention to. I challenge all South Africans to ensure that each one teaches the next man and woman about the value that all forms of education can add in the development of our nation, including open distance learning, further education and training as well indigenous knowledge systems.

We must work together to eradicate the phantasm that some education systems are more valuable than others.  With a proud history that spans fourteen decades in the education trenches, we at Unisa can vouch that they all have a contribution to make towards building a better country.

Visit the 140 celebration website.

On 6 February, at the official opening of the 2013 academic year, Prof Mandla Makhanya,Principal and Vice-Chancellor, will reveal all the exciting details about Unisa’s 140th birthday celebrations.

Are you excited about Unisa’s 140th birthday? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

Visit the 140 website website.