The Role of Student Leadership and Student Leaders

Transcription

1 Speech delivered by the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Mduduzi Manana, MP, at the University of South Africa s (UNISA) 2015 Leadership and Development Training Workshop for the National and Regional SRC members on 19 February 2015 Programme Director Dean of Students Registrar Student Leadership University Management Students Good Morning! The Role of Student Leadership and Student Leaders Thank you for inviting me to UNISA s 2015 Leadership and Development Training Workshop for the National and Regional SRC members. It is indeed a great honour to be invited to speak at this auspicious event, where the university seeks to make a contribution to the development of our young leadership for the benefit of the institution and our country. The Department of Higher Education and Training takes student leadership development seriously and it is also within my portfolio of responsibilities.

2 I have been asked to provide input on the role of student leadership and student leaders in an institution. In order to do so, it is important that the role of student leadership is juxtaposed with other institutional structures that are set up to provide leadership and governance of an institution because, in that way, we will be able to appreciate each other s responsibilities and understand what is expected of each structure. In order to delineate the role of student leadership and those of other structures at an institution of higher learning, we should start at the source of provisioning policies and in this case we have the White Paper 3: A Programme for Higher Education Transformation which emphasises a meaningful involvement of students and staff in all governance structures of the institutions including councils. I would like to emphasise the point about meaningful involvement in all governance structures because on a number of occasions, this involvement has been misinterpreted sometimes deliberately in order to suit the objectives of the structures concerned. So, the interpretation of this statement should address the questions: What is meant by meaningful involvement? or How can meaningful involvement in the governance of an institution be attained? First and foremost, in my understanding meaningful involvement in the governance of an institution entails having a clear understanding of policies and rules of the institution and broadly those of the higher education system at large. This is because, one cannot provide leadership and make meaningful contribution to the governance of an institution without understanding the policies and rules which everyone involved is expected to abide by. So, our institutional leadership is expected, as a minimum, to understand policies that guide and govern the higher education system and those that govern the institution. Such understanding would enable the leadership to identify areas that require improvements so that the institution and the system are further developed. That, to me, is indeed meaningful involvement in the governance of an institution. After all, these documents are a source of our roles and responsibilities. Secondly, we need leadership that understands where we are going as a country and what contribution is expected from institutions of higher learning in contributing towards the national agenda. The source of our national agenda can be found from

3 the National Development Plan 2030 (NDP), wherein other sector-specific policies are aligned to, and these are the New Growth Path (NGP), the Industrial Policy Action Plan 2 (ipap2), the Integrated Rural Development Strategy (IRDS), the Ten Year Innovation Plan and the Human Resources Development Strategy (HRDS). In fact, our own National Skills Development Strategy III (NSDS 3) falls within these broad framework policies. I have as yet to come across a student voice that constructively critiques these policies. I am not advocating for a single student voice as there are always differences of opinions in these matters. All these policies are meant to address the three scourges we have in our society and these are unemployment, poverty and inequality. Therefore, it is expected of institutions to focus their efforts towards dealing decisively with these scourges. This can be achieved by institutions of higher learning if they are under good leadership and governance, which is expected to have the contribution of student leadership. The vision of the Department is to advance a truly comprehensive and a differentiated post-school education and training system which is capable of making a meaningful contribution to the lives of all South Africans, particularly the youth and the poor in general. The idea is to have a single, integrated, coherent and wellarticulated post-school education and training system in which all institutions work in such a way that they strengthen one another and in which there are no dead ends for students. In this regard, the National Development Plan 2030 correctly declares that The education system will play a greater role in building an inclusive society, providing equal opportunities and helping all South Africans to realise their full potential, in particular those previously disadvantaged by apartheid policies, namely black people, women and people with disabilities There should be clear linkages between schools, FET colleges, universities of technology, universities and other providers of education and training. There should also be clear linkages between education and training and the world of work. Therefore, this is the goal towards which our institutions of higher learning should also work. Our efforts must be synergised.

4 Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, we need student leadership that understands that they are students first. As students, you are at the institutions of higher learning, first and foremost, to study. This means hard work so that you qualify in your areas of chosen speciality. You must pass and do so with distinction. We can ill-afford as the society to have leaders who do not understand the value of education, moreover, you should lead by example. By the way, Mr President, I am now also a student of this university. I am, therefore, subject to the leadership that you will provide on behalf of all of us as students. Over and above the issues I have raised above, I expect that the whole of your SRC will lead with integrity and consider all the views before a decision is taken; As a student, I expect to see improvements in how student matters are attended to by both the SRC and the administration of the institution; I expect to see my leadership that understands pertinent issues faced by the students of this university on a daily basis and how they are resolved; and I expect leadership that cares. Perhaps, this is my fourth point which basically points to the role of student leadership from a perspective of an ordinary student who works hard to have fees paid and studies among many competing demands that are always a distraction to a mature-distancelearning student. Of course, UNISA now attracts a lot of very young students who may have different needs from the regular mature students which the university traditionally attracted. Let me go back to another issue I raised at the beginning of my talk and that is, understanding of each other s roles and responsibilities. Being in the leadership is about understanding not only the role of your structure but that of other structures too. We are often confronted by student leadership that complains that they are not given space by university management to govern, in the spirit of cooperative governance. The argument would go on to say that university management does not involve us in every decision the university takes. In particular, Student Representative Councils are sometimes said to be undermined by institutional management and councils. Of course, this may be the case in certain instances, but a line should always be drawn between suppression of student leadership and taking responsibility by management and council to manage and govern the institution respectively. This is where the

5 understanding of the concept of cooperative governance is sometimes lost, as I said earlier. Of course the concept of cooperative governance was adopted after 1994 when new policies of the democratic system came into place. Therefore, the concept is government-wide and not just in the higher education and training system. According to the White Paper 3, [Leadership and governance] structures should provide for co-operative decision-making between separate but functionally interdependent stakeholders who recognise their different identities, interests and freedoms, while pursuing the common goal of a co-ordinated and participative polity and civil society, (White Paper 3). Again, I would like to emphasise the issue, which I would paraphrase as that of separate but functionally interdependent stakeholders who must pursue the common goal of the development of our society. The common goal of our institutions of higher learning is that of developing our nation through education. It is not a problem if we differ on how we should realise or achieve this goal for as long as we are moving forward and not stagnating. University councils, in which SRCs have representation, have ultimate responsibility for the governance of institutions. In our view, this is where the effectiveness of student leadership needs strengthening. The strengthening of leadership effectiveness refers to the improvement of the quality of leadership and the understanding of their purpose, which, similarly to all other structures within an institution, is the development of our society. We are not progressing, therefore, if we start by destroying what we already have in demand of what we would like to have. That is simply counter-revolutionary and unscientific. Still under the subject of cooperative governance, the White Paper 3 provides us guidance that Successful negotiation and co-operative practice depend on the parties reaching agreement about the mission of the institution and their joint responsibilities toward it.

6 It does not say that certain views must dominate and others subservient. The determining factor for the views that should survive must be the common goal towards which all the structures are enjoined. The role of student leadership, therefore, is far broader than what is often portrayed in the public. We view student leaders as important partners in providing solutions to the immense challenges facing the sector and our society. We expect that our student leaders, for instance, understand the class contradictions of our changing society and should always seek to address such contradictions, not only within our campuses but in our communities and society at large. In order to thrive, student leadership needs to work beyond the narrow scope of student interests and provide intellectual leadership informed by the challenges of our developmental state. Indeed, suppression of student voice must not be allowed and where it surfaces, it must be dealt with decisively. Professor Mandla Makhanya once said, Leadership is defined by servant-hood and therefore associated with attributes such as listening, empathy, awareness, persuasion, stewardship, growth, and building community. You lead simply because you become a servant of those that you are leading and in doing so you must work within a high set of values and ethics, he says. Trust and integrity top the list but so does self-discipline. I will close with a quote, that Leadership involves remembering past mistakes, an analysis of today s achievements, and a well-grounded imagination in visualizing the problem of the future, Stanley C. Allyn. Programme Director, I think I have covered the topic I was assigned to address, but like any good student I will leave some matters for discussion. Before, I take up my seat though I just want to say a word about the current state of affairs with regard to student admissions and registration and the thorny issue being the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). The challenge of funding to support the poor to access post school opportunities remains a problem for many students and parents. Government remains committed to ensure that academically deserving and financially needy students get the opportunity to study at a post school institution, that is a university or a college. The NSFAS is a flagship programme of government which, since its inception, has enabled more than 1.4 million students from disadvantaged families to access opportunities at universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training

7 (TVET) colleges, effectively supporting the development of the black middle class in this country. Despite the massive increase in student financial aid, NSFAS does not have sufficient funds to enable all academically capable and financially needy students to be fully supported through their studies. Therefore, as the leadership in the sector we need to put our heads together to determine the way forward under these circumstances. The Department has been having on-going discussions on this matter which include NSFAS, National Treasury, SAUS and HESA. Your constructive ideas in this regard will be much appreciated. In conclusion, once again, thank you for the invitation and for lending me your ears. The Freedom Charter says, The doors of learning and culture shall be opened, so let us work together to ensure that they remain open for all the generations that follow us. I wish you well in your deliberations. Thank you.