Transformation is not simply numbers

An often expressed opinion holds that transformation is important, but it comes at the cost of quality. A panel discussion held at Rhodes University this week sought to unwrap the issue of Transformation and Quality in Higher Education.

Dr Lis Lange, Executive Director of the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) spoke first and said quality was added layers of meaning and content. While it is not immutable, it is not endlessly negotiable.

Quality is a political issue. Higher Education under apartheid was characterised by inequity, particularly the limited access of black and women students into certain fields. Dr Lange made the point that “the principles of equity require fair opportunity both to enter higher education programmes, and to succeed in them.”

Institutions of higher education need to enhance opportunities for those who have not had them. It is not only about fairness, but redress, and the challenge, said Dr Lange, is to move the methodology beyond the idea of transformation as a quantifiable entity.

The next speaker was Prof Chrissie Boughey, (Dean: Teaching and Learning) of Rhodes University. Prof Boughey used HEQC definitions, explaining that quality is defined as “fitness for and of purpose.” 'Value for money' is a related concept. Transformation is defined as “individuals fulfilling their potential.”

How then to implement these definitions? Studies of higher education reveal that we are not yet succeeding. Attrition rates are high and completion rates are low and the hardest hit are black students. Our system, says Prof Boughey, is not fit for its purpose, is not providing value for money and is not meeting the criteria for transformation. Prof Boughey proposed that an audit is needed which pushes individual educators to question their own assumptions.

The last speaker of the day was Dr Saleem Badat, Vice Chancellor of Rhodes University. He posed the question, how do we apply these theories in practice? Is quality contingent on transformation, or is it at the cost of it?

Dr Badat warned of the danger of judging the quality of an institution or an individual solely on economic responsiveness. By the same token, he stressed the need not to reduce transformation to mere demographics. Transformation is not simply numbers. It is changing how we think about ourselves and others. It is our ability to question our ideas, and to put ourselves into the shoes of someone different to us.

He emphasised that quality is dependent on diversity, which encourages institutional vitality. Academic freedom and autonomy are essential, but have duties inherent in them, among them to de-racialise, de-colonise and de-gender academic spaces.

In conclusion, Dr Badat stated that quality is contingent on transformation. An agenda without quality cannot be said to be transformative.

Pic: Dr Lis Lange, Executive Director of the Higher Education Quality Committee.
Photographer: Daneel Knoetze.