‘A little knowledge is a dangerous thing’ – Unisa Chancellor

The Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs (TM-School) hosted its bi-annual conversation with Unisa Chancellor and former President Thabo Mbeki on 16 March 2023 at the institution’s Muckleneuck Campus. The event was attended by students, academics, diplomats, the business community, the media and other interested stakeholders. 

A wide range of stakeholders participated in the conversation

Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor (VC), Professor Puleng LenkaBula, officially opened the session and welcomed guests to the engagement with the Chancellor. The VC reminded the audience that Unisa is the founding institute for the university system in South Africa, and the inventor of comprehensive open and distance eLearning for universities. “We should not negate the importance of this great public asset and the role it has to play,” she said. 

Unisa Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Puleng LenkaBula

Recalling the first student engagement at the founding of the TM-School’s predecessor, the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute, the VC restated Chancellor Mbeki’s remarks that Africa needs to invest in its people, economies and institutions if it is to move forward.  

She further acknowledged the Chancellor’s role in encouraging the world of ideas and contestation of ideas. The VC said Mbeki was worried about the identities of Africans, their spirituality, civilisations, and their contribution to the global arena, and that he invited all of us to rethink Africa’s transformations. “The renaissance or revolution will require contributions of geo-political ideas, economic ideas, and other social imperatives to reposition Africa for the new millennium and have citizens who live with dignity,” the VC concluded. 

Following the opening remarks, audience members posed questions to the Chancellor ranging from, among others, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement compared to the Lagos Plan of Action, illicit financial flows and the grey-listing of South Africa, and the National Assembly’s Section 194 Committee on the Public Protector.

Unisa Chancellor, former President Thabo Mbeki

As Unisa celebrates its 150th anniversary, the Chancellor warned about the dangers of “a little knowledge” and emphasised the importance of learning. He also said that the major challenge facing the African continent is the production of a cadre of intellectuals, people who can produce and apply new knowledge to achieve the advancement of South Africa and the rest of the continent.

The Chancellor challenged the TM-School to produce change agents that South Africa and Africa need, people who are empowered with knowledge in order to overcome the challenge of a little knowledge.

Click here to watch a recording of the conversation.  

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* By Tshepo Neito, Communication and Marketing Specialist, TM-School