Publications
Partners
Education and the National Democratic Revolution
Introduction
How is it, we ask, is a nation so rich in mineral resources still classified as a ThirdWorld country? By what means is a state whose mineral reserves continue to be someof the world’s most valuable, with an estimated worth of R20.3-trillion, have social,political, cultural, and economic divisions that mirror those of the least developedcountries? Exactly how is a republic that has the world’s largest reserves of platinumgroup metals and manganese, and is also among the among the largest reserves ofgold, diamonds, chromite ore and vanadium, have challenges of access and successin institutions of formal learning and training for the majority population? The answerlies, progressive revolutionaries will argue, in the fundamental contradiction that existin the South African society. These are described in the thesis of the NationalDemocratic Revolution (NDR) as racial oppression, class super-exploitation, andpatriarchal relations of power.While there is universal consensus on the need to transform South Africa into onewhich belongs to all those who live in it, despite race, class, gender or creed, the routeor methods of achieving such transformation fundamentally differ. The jointCOSATU/SACP political project, building socialism now (1999), argue that in attainingmajor structural change in South Africa, there are two strategic possibilities.On one hand you have what one would call capitalist class strategic perspective ontransformation which seeks, “to bring about some limited, formal deracialisation (todestabilise or even win over key parts of the liberation movement), and to carry throughthe neoliberal structural transformations of the economy to make it more “competitive”within the context of imperialist globalisation” (COSATU/SACP, 1999). On the otherhand, you have the national democratic perspective of the popular progressiveliberation forces in our country, frequently referred to as the National DemocraticRevolution, which seeks to resolve the three interrelated and interconnectedfundamental contradictions of racial oppression, class supper exploitation, andpatriarchal relations of power.In this light, this paper will attempt to discuss the relationship between the struggle tofundamentally and radically transform the higher education and training sector, and the NDR. It will do so by firstly looking at the historical need for the struggle totransform the higher education and training sector. It will further illuminate on what ismeant by the concept of a national democratic revolution in relation to overcoming thechallenges in the higher education and training sector. Lastly, it will argue that theNDR is the only reliable and effective strategic possibility in realising true andfundamental transformation in the higher education and training sector in particular,and society in general.Historical relevance of the need to transform education in South AfricaThe apartheid regime adopted and implemented oppressive economic and socialpolicies which sort to marginalize the majority of the country’s population and deepenthe strata of the vicious circle of poverty and other similar implications. In other words,or rather in public policy terms, the Republic was defined by social exclusion policiesof the majority and social inclusion policies for the minority white population of thecountry, as one can argue. Education played a crucial role in ensuring that the idealsof the racist state filter through the divided South African society at the time, andreproduce themselves in a post-apartheid democratic dispensation.The African majority where denied their birth right to formal learning and culturethrough the many policies that existed in the era. For example, for a black African toenrol in institutions of higher learning and training which were reserved for the whiteminority, such the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University, they wouldhave to write a letter of motivation to the Minister of Education. While there wereinstitutions of higher learning for the black population, these were confronted withchallenges of limited resources and facilities. More than anything, these institutionswere built to reinforce the tribal structure of living imposed by the illegitimate apartheidregime.The material effects of apartheid rule resulted in millions of South Africans participatedin the construction and adoption of the Freedom Charter, a document that expressedthe demands of the people in the country. Its opening demand was that the “Peopleshall Govern” (C.O.P: 1955), which meant an entitlement of the people in taking partin the administration of the country, and the removal of bodies of minority rule replacedby democratic organs of self-governance. Included in these demands was that “thedoors of learning and culture shall be open” (C.O.P: 1955). The student movement further contextualized this demand within the creation of a national democratic society,when it became among the progressive forces in the country to adopt the NDR as adirect route and program to achieve the ideals mentioned in the peoples FreedomCharter. However the question remains, as to what we mean when we speak of anational democratic revolution, more especially in relation to the struggle to transformhigher education and training in South Africa.The meaning of a national democratic revolution in relation to overcoming thechallenges in the higher education and training sector.In order to do justice to this task, or at least attempt to do so, this paper will unpackthe “N”, the “D”, and the “R” in the NDR linked to the challenges that exist in the highereducation and training terrain.The N in the NDRThe national characteristic of the NDR has three main tasks. Firstly it is “the struggleto overcome the legacy of racial/ national oppression of the black majority in general,and the African people in particular” (COSATU/SACP, 1999). In other words, this taskrefers to the struggle to create a just society based on the principle of non-racialism.This legacy of national/ racial oppression is expressively prevalent in our institutionsof higher learning and training, more especially those that were previously preservedfor the white minority populace in the colonial and apartheid era, such as the Universityof Pretoria, University of Cape Town, and the University of Free State.The second task denotes the overall objective of achieving real nation building inSouth Africa. This task is ordinarily confused with the abstract and symbolic forms ofpatriotism that don’t deal with the actual material conditions for the existence of racialdivisions in our society and the education and training terrain. Rather it entails“overcoming the huge inequalities in infrastructural development between urban andrural areas, between formerly white and formerly black urban areas. It means forginga unifying national education system, equally available to all” (COSATU/SACP, 1999).The inequalities that exist between the so-called “ivory tower” institutions and theinstitutions of higher learning and training which were previously meant for the blackpopulation present themselves in many aspects such as, infrastructural development, fiscal sustainability and capital investments from alumni and other revenues,administration, quality of teaching staff, knowledge and research production.The third element of the N in the NDR relates to the struggle to accomplish actualnational sovereignty in the country. This means a South Africa whose educationsystem is able to address the challenges facing the country. It denotes an educationand training system capable of producing a force of progressive academics free fromregressive ideas and philosophies of global imperialism. It signifies academic contentwhich is in contrast to the capitalist neo-liberal programme whose main aim is toreduce our national as a peripheral, dependent and third world economy.The D in the NDRThe struggle against apartheid and colonial rule was significantly intensified with thehistoric 1994 victory that saw the first democratic elections in the country, based onthe principle of ‘one man, one vote’. While the majority population of the country couldnow enjoy a basic right of self-determination (the right to choose their owngovernment), this did not necessarily mean that all spheres of society weredemocratized. The majority population in the country are not involved in the decisionmaking process in institutions of higher learning and training. On the contrary, it is thelily-white male dominated senates that are responsible for driving transformation.The point stated above narrates the second aspect of the D in the NDR, which is thedemocratisation of gender relations. It is true that in South Africa, African womensuffered what is universally (well at least among progressive forces) understood astriple oppression of race, class and gender. This is still true in the new democraticSouth Africa. Consider for example the lack of African female professors in thecountry. Of the 2174 professors on the university employment data in 2014, only 28are African female professors. (Check, 2014) The University of Cape Town (UCT)does not have a single black female professor in its employment data.Given these challenges mentioned in this paper, what process should werevolutionaries engage on, in an endeavour to hammer out and disentangle thesecontradictions that hinder our efforts of creating a national democratic society? The R in the NDRIt is clear, given the depth of these interrelated and interconnect struggles that the onlyplausible and logical solution is a fundamental reorganisation of the society in general,and the higher education and training sector in particular. “A profound process ofchange in which power relations are radically transformed” (COSATU/SACP, 1999).Put differently, the process of change ought not to be reformist, symbolic, orincorporative of some sections of the oppressed groups. Institutions of higher learningand training, including those which were previously preserved for the white community,should have student and staff profiles that increasingly reflect the populationdemographics of the country. The academic content taught in lectures should not onlybe Afrocentric, but class orientated as well. The main focus of research must be toaddress the challenges in the country, the region, the continent, and the global Southas a whole. Our campuses must be reconstructed to never glorify the injustices of thepast, but rather embrace a society with the features of democracy, equality, freedomand self-determination, and socialisation of key sectors of the economy.In conclusionIt is evident that the NDR remains a relevant and unswerving programme forfundamental change in the higher education and training sector. The capitaliststrategic possibility preferred by our class enemies and the neo-liberal camp will butplace a carpet over the dirt. The progress student movement must continue to adoptthis programme in its attempt to radically transform the higher education and trainingterrain.ReferencesCheck, A. (2014, August 18). Retrieved from Africa Check : http://africacheck.org/reports/howmany-professors-are-there-in-sa/COSATU/SACP. (1999). Building socialism now: preparing for the new millennium.C.O.P. (1955). The Freedom Charter. Klpifontein
Introduction
How is it, we ask, is a nation so rich in mineral resources still classified as a ThirdWorld country? By what means is a state whose mineral reserves continue to be someof the world’s most valuable, with an estimated worth of R20.3-trillion, have social,political, cultural, and economic divisions that mirror those of the least developedcountries? Exactly how is a republic that has the world’s largest reserves of platinumgroup metals and manganese, and is also among the among the largest reserves ofgold, diamonds, chromite ore and vanadium, have challenges of access and successin institutions of formal learning and training for the majority population? The answerlies, progressive revolutionaries will argue, in the fundamental contradiction that existin the South African society. These are described in the thesis of the NationalDemocratic Revolution (NDR) as racial oppression, class super-exploitation, andpatriarchal relations of power.While there is universal consensus on the need to transform South Africa into onewhich belongs to all those who live in it, despite race, class, gender or creed, the routeor methods of achieving such transformation fundamentally differ. The jointCOSATU/SACP political project, building socialism now (1999), argue that in attainingmajor structural change in South Africa, there are two strategic possibilities.On one hand you have what one would call capitalist class strategic perspective ontransformation which seeks, “to bring about some limited, formal deracialisation (todestabilise or even win over key parts of the liberation movement), and to carry throughthe neoliberal structural transformations of the economy to make it more “competitive”within the context of imperialist globalisation” (COSATU/SACP, 1999). On the otherhand, you have the national democratic perspective of the popular progressiveliberation forces in our country, frequently referred to as the National DemocraticRevolution, which seeks to resolve the three interrelated and interconnectedfundamental contradictions of racial oppression, class supper exploitation, andpatriarchal relations of power.In this light, this paper will attempt to discuss the relationship between the struggle tofundamentally and radically transform the higher education and training sector, and the NDR. It will do so by firstly looking at the historical need for the struggle totransform the higher education and training sector. It will further illuminate on what ismeant by the concept of a national democratic revolution in relation to overcoming thechallenges in the higher education and training sector. Lastly, it will argue that theNDR is the only reliable and effective strategic possibility in realising true andfundamental transformation in the higher education and training sector in particular,and society in general.Historical relevance of the need to transform education in South AfricaThe apartheid regime adopted and implemented oppressive economic and socialpolicies which sort to marginalize the majority of the country’s population and deepenthe strata of the vicious circle of poverty and other similar implications. In other words,or rather in public policy terms, the Republic was defined by social exclusion policiesof the majority and social inclusion policies for the minority white population of thecountry, as one can argue. Education played a crucial role in ensuring that the idealsof the racist state filter through the divided South African society at the time, andreproduce themselves in a post-apartheid democratic dispensation.The African majority where denied their birth right to formal learning and culturethrough the many policies that existed in the era. For example, for a black African toenrol in institutions of higher learning and training which were reserved for the whiteminority, such the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University, they wouldhave to write a letter of motivation to the Minister of Education. While there wereinstitutions of higher learning for the black population, these were confronted withchallenges of limited resources and facilities. More than anything, these institutionswere built to reinforce the tribal structure of living imposed by the illegitimate apartheidregime.The material effects of apartheid rule resulted in millions of South Africans participatedin the construction and adoption of the Freedom Charter, a document that expressedthe demands of the people in the country. Its opening demand was that the “Peopleshall Govern” (C.O.P: 1955), which meant an entitlement of the people in taking partin the administration of the country, and the removal of bodies of minority rule replacedby democratic organs of self-governance. Included in these demands was that “thedoors of learning and culture shall be open” (C.O.P: 1955). The student movement further contextualized this demand within the creation of a national democratic society,when it became among the progressive forces in the country to adopt the NDR as adirect route and program to achieve the ideals mentioned in the peoples FreedomCharter. However the question remains, as to what we mean when we speak of anational democratic revolution, more especially in relation to the struggle to transformhigher education and training in South Africa.The meaning of a national democratic revolution in relation to overcoming thechallenges in the higher education and training sector.In order to do justice to this task, or at least attempt to do so, this paper will unpackthe “N”, the “D”, and the “R” in the NDR linked to the challenges that exist in the highereducation and training terrain.The N in the NDRThe national characteristic of the NDR has three main tasks. Firstly it is “the struggleto overcome the legacy of racial/ national oppression of the black majority in general,and the African people in particular” (COSATU/SACP, 1999). In other words, this taskrefers to the struggle to create a just society based on the principle of non-racialism.This legacy of national/ racial oppression is expressively prevalent in our institutionsof higher learning and training, more especially those that were previously preservedfor the white minority populace in the colonial and apartheid era, such as the Universityof Pretoria, University of Cape Town, and the University of Free State.The second task denotes the overall objective of achieving real nation building inSouth Africa. This task is ordinarily confused with the abstract and symbolic forms ofpatriotism that don’t deal with the actual material conditions for the existence of racialdivisions in our society and the education and training terrain. Rather it entails“overcoming the huge inequalities in infrastructural development between urban andrural areas, between formerly white and formerly black urban areas. It means forginga unifying national education system, equally available to all” (COSATU/SACP, 1999).The inequalities that exist between the so-called “ivory tower” institutions and theinstitutions of higher learning and training which were previously meant for the blackpopulation present themselves in many aspects such as, infrastructural development, fiscal sustainability and capital investments from alumni and other revenues,administration, quality of teaching staff, knowledge and research production.The third element of the N in the NDR relates to the struggle to accomplish actualnational sovereignty in the country. This means a South Africa whose educationsystem is able to address the challenges facing the country. It denotes an educationand training system capable of producing a force of progressive academics free fromregressive ideas and philosophies of global imperialism. It signifies academic contentwhich is in contrast to the capitalist neo-liberal programme whose main aim is toreduce our national as a peripheral, dependent and third world economy.The D in the NDRThe struggle against apartheid and colonial rule was significantly intensified with thehistoric 1994 victory that saw the first democratic elections in the country, based onthe principle of ‘one man, one vote’. While the majority population of the country couldnow enjoy a basic right of self-determination (the right to choose their owngovernment), this did not necessarily mean that all spheres of society weredemocratized. The majority population in the country are not involved in the decisionmaking process in institutions of higher learning and training. On the contrary, it is thelily-white male dominated senates that are responsible for driving transformation.The point stated above narrates the second aspect of the D in the NDR, which is thedemocratisation of gender relations. It is true that in South Africa, African womensuffered what is universally (well at least among progressive forces) understood astriple oppression of race, class and gender. This is still true in the new democraticSouth Africa. Consider for example the lack of African female professors in thecountry. Of the 2174 professors on the university employment data in 2014, only 28are African female professors. (Check, 2014) The University of Cape Town (UCT)does not have a single black female professor in its employment data.Given these challenges mentioned in this paper, what process should werevolutionaries engage on, in an endeavour to hammer out and disentangle thesecontradictions that hinder our efforts of creating a national democratic society? The R in the NDRIt is clear, given the depth of these interrelated and interconnect struggles that the onlyplausible and logical solution is a fundamental reorganisation of the society in general,and the higher education and training sector in particular. “A profound process ofchange in which power relations are radically transformed” (COSATU/SACP, 1999).Put differently, the process of change ought not to be reformist, symbolic, orincorporative of some sections of the oppressed groups. Institutions of higher learningand training, including those which were previously preserved for the white community,should have student and staff profiles that increasingly reflect the populationdemographics of the country. The academic content taught in lectures should not onlybe Afrocentric, but class orientated as well. The main focus of research must be toaddress the challenges in the country, the region, the continent, and the global Southas a whole. Our campuses must be reconstructed to never glorify the injustices of thepast, but rather embrace a society with the features of democracy, equality, freedomand self-determination, and socialisation of key sectors of the economy.In conclusionIt is evident that the NDR remains a relevant and unswerving programme forfundamental change in the higher education and training sector. The capitaliststrategic possibility preferred by our class enemies and the neo-liberal camp will butplace a carpet over the dirt. The progress student movement must continue to adoptthis programme in its attempt to radically transform the higher education and trainingterrain.ReferencesCheck, A. (2014, August 18). Retrieved from Africa Check : http://africacheck.org/reports/howmany-professors-are-there-in-sa/COSATU/SACP. (1999). Building socialism now: preparing for the new millennium.C.O.P. (1955). The Freedom Charter. Klpifontein
