Keeping the higher education spark glowing

“African universities are confronting a confluence of pressures that undermine their capacity to fulfil their transformative mission.”

This nagging feeling is part of why Charline Chikomo – a master’s student at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance – is interested in the political economy of educational reforms. He recently wrote a searing opinion piece titled, “Unmasking the commodification and corporatisation of higher education in Africa”, published earlier in January.

“In developing my master’s thesis, I discovered that educational reforms cannot be disentangled from the political economy in which they are situated. Through an in-depth exploration of Zimbabwe’s educational landscape, I uncovered those sectoral interventions – despite their technical merit – fail to deliver sustainable outcomes because they are often blind to the political and economic forces that shape their implementation,” said Chikomo.

He unpacked some of the themes, concerns and observations in an interview with UCT News.

Kamva Somdyala (KS): Reading your recent op-ed, one might conclude that the overarching theme is that higher education is under duress. Is that a fair characterisation?

Charline Chikomo (CC): Yes ... Authoritarian regimes have increasingly instrumentalised education as a tool of state control, emphasising compliance and vocational utility over critical inquiry and intellectual freedom. This shift has marginalised disciplines like philosophy, history, and the arts, which are essential for fostering critical thought and democratic engagement. Compounding these challenges is chronic state underfunding, which has forced many institutions to adopt commodification and corporatisation strategies, transforming education from a public good into a market-driven enterprise.

“Universities under duress can paradoxically become sites of radical creativity and critical resistance, as the limitations imposed upon them demand adaptive strategies and unconventional thinking.”

Global market dynamics and the hegemony of Western-centric university rankings further exacerbate this crisis, compelling African universities to prioritise metrics that overlook local contexts and ignore issues of access, equity, and societal relevance. Under such duress, universities must navigate a precarious balance between survival and their higher mission as incubators of transformative thought.

The very conditions of pressure – financial scarcity, political interference, and market-driven imperatives – necessitate a reimagination of resilience. Universities under duress can paradoxically become sites of radical creativity and critical resistance, as the limitations imposed upon them demand adaptive strategies and unconventional thinking.

KS: You write, “Education has become a product packaged to meet the economy’s needs rather than a pursuit of knowledge and truth to shape society.” Is this statement not six of one and half a dozen of the other? Can you please explain further?

CC: While I understand the concern in the question, I must reject the simplification of my statement as “six of one and half a dozen of the other”. The distinction I am making is far from a rhetorical nuance; it represents a critical divide between two fundamentally different philosophical approaches to education. The utilitarian view reduces education to a mere instrument of economic function, preparing individuals solely for market roles.

The humanistic perspective, however, conceives education as a transformative force, an intellectual and moral journey aimed at cultivating informed, ethical citizens who engage with and challenge societal structures. Education in this sense is not just about producing workers but about shaping individuals who can critique power, contribute to social justice, and drive societal progress.

KS: Do you not think the point about universities reclaiming their “role as spaces for deep intellectual engagement” is stifled because of what is going on in societies across the globe such as charged politics and geopolitical conflicts. Therefore, there’s a new age order of having to “pick a side”, even at university level?

CC: Indeed, I contend that the very essence of universities as spaces for profound intellectual engagement is being suffocated by the prevailing political and geopolitical currents sweeping across the globe. In this age of hyperpolarisation, the pressure to “pick a side” has infiltrated even academic institutions, turning them into spaces of partisanship rather than battlegrounds of ideas and open inquiry. This one-dimensional allegiance to dominant ideologies does not nurture the depth of intellectual exploration; it diminishes it.

KS: How can universities return to a space you note as being to “cultivate deep, abstract thinking and a capacity to question and transform”?

CC: Reframe the purpose of higher education and prioritise foundational inquiry: Universities should shift from a focus on vocational training and rote knowledge transmission to one that encourages intellectual curiosity, creativity, and critical reflection. The goal should be to inspire students to question societal norms and intellectual assumptions, not merely to acquire skills for the job market.

Decolonise curriculum and decentralise intellectual authority: To truly fulfil their transformative potential, universities must decolonise their curricula by challenging the dominance of Western epistemologies and embracing diverse worldviews with the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, histories, and worldviews which apply to their local contexts. This includes moving away from a top-down approach, where knowledge is controlled by professors, government, corporate sponsors, international donors, and other influential stakeholders who often seek to shape educational content due to their vested interests in institutional agendas.

“Students may spend only a few years on campus, but their influence echoes beyond, shaping society for decades as they ascend to positions of power and authority.”

Encourage intellectual courage: Universities must foster a culture that embraces uncertainty, complexity, and dissent. Intellectual courage involves engaging with uncomfortable ideas and confronting difficult truths, viewing failure and uncertainty as essential parts of the learning journey rather than barriers to success.

Distinguish universities from TVET colleges: Unlike Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, which are primarily focused on developing specific, market-driven skills, universities are designed to foster broad intellectual engagement, critical inquiry, and theoretical knowledge. A university educates students to think abstractly and question existing paradigms, preparing them to navigate complex societal issues and contribute to the intellectual and philosophical development of society.

KS: With 10 years of the Must Fall movements, has it been a case of the more things change, the more they stay the same with higher education?

CC: It would be reductive – if not entirely inaccurate – to argue that “the more things change, the more they stay the same” in higher education after 10 years of the Must Fall movements. Such a claim oversimplifies a complex and transformative moment in South Africa’s history, reducing it to a shallow and static narrative. Tracking progress in this regard hinges on the distinction between incremental and transformational change. Immediate gains such as increased support towards black academics, withdrawing hostile private security, funding for underprivileged students, removal of colonial symbols, establishing a RMF [Rhodes Must Fall] scholarship and renaming of buildings represent a step forward – not just superficial gestures but meaningful advances toward transformational change.

Systemic reform is rarely immediate; it is a dialectical process that unfolds over time. The law of dialectics stating that quantitative changes leading to qualitative shifts applies here: the incremental victories of the Must Fall movements are accumulating, building momentum for deeper and more enduring transformation. Students may spend only a few years on campus, but their influence echoes beyond, shaping society for decades as they ascend to positions of power and authority.