Ministers and Premier,
Deputy Ministers, Members of Executive Committees and Mayors,
Religious and Traditional Leaders,
Higher Education and Training Leaders,
The Sol Plaatje family,
Fellow South Africans,
Dumelang.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the launch of the Sol Plaatje University and celebrate the establishment of the first university in South Africa since we achieved democracy.
In establishing this university we are following in a great African tradition: the Al-Azhar University in Egypt, founded more than a thousand years ago is considered the first in the world; the University of Timbuktu in Mali was a celebrated centre of learning in the middle ages; the University of Sierra Leone was founded in 1827 and our own University of Fort Hare in 1916.
I have no doubt that the Sol Plaatje University will also be a great institution and that many future scholars will pass through its doors. The establishment of the Sol Plaatje University is an integral part of Government’s programme of expanding access to higher education and growing knowledge production and the innovation capabilities of our nation.
The National Development Plan (NDP) envisages an increase in participation in higher education from 18% in 2012 to 25% by 2030. In the last decade we have witnessed a growth of over 50% in university enrolments: there were 603 000 students in 2001 and 953 375 in 2012.
Meeting the NDP targets will require further growth in enrolment and even higher success-levels of students at higher education institutions. The development of the Sol Plaatje University will accelerate access to university education and contribute to producing high level skills for our country.
A key strategy in supporting this expansion has been significant infrastructure investment amounting to R6.8 billion between 2007 and 2011, and a further commitment of R6 billion over the 2012 to 2014 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.
The establishment of new infrastructure for Sol Plaatje University will require a further investment of approximately R5 billion over the next ten years. Government is committed to supporting economic growth and job creation through infrastructure development and this university is one of the Strategic Integrated Projects, that is, SIP 14, aimed at expanding higher education and training infrastructure. The development of this university will contribute to job creation both directly and indirectly.
Today’s launch rests on five important pillars. The first pillar is the 10-year development plan for the university. In 2010 the Minister of Higher Education and Training appointed a Task Team to explore models and options for the establishment of the university. Its report led to the completion of a detailed feasibility study, completed in 2012, for the establishment of the Sol Plaatje University. The feasibility study led in turn to the 10-year development plan which laid out the strategy for the university’s academic, institutional and physical development.
The development plan adopted a phased approach towards expanding the university to 7 500 students over a 10 year period. The university is expected to commence with 3 three programmes in 2014, its first year. This will be a realistic, modest but effective start-up. It will then gradually introduce the courses and qualifications on offer each year to achieve the target of 7 500 students by 2024.
This phased approach is designed to enable the university to grow its institutional, academic and infrastructure capacity in a planned and incremental manner to ensure sustainability and quality.
Enrolments are central but are not the only measure of a university’s success: I want to emphasise that it will be expected to provide additional specialist capacity to the higher education system and establish academic niche areas which will contribute to the high-level knowledge economy towards which this country is working.
Sol Plaatje university will also develop over the years to become a multi campus university so that it will reach a wider population closer to where it is located. This will also ensure that we grow the capacity of the university to respond to higher education needs in this province and beyond.
Furthermore, Sol Plaatje University has a novel approach to the development of academic programmes, drawing on the strengths of higher education experts in partner universities and elsewhere. Such partnerships will greatly benefit this university.
For example it will be able to draw on existing accredited programmes, utilising the experience of long-established universities in their delivery, and it will have the benefit of advice on quality assurance and assistance in developing the academic and other sophisticated, long-term skills that all universities require; whilst also seeking to develop something new and relevant.
The partner institutions will also provide support to the new university staff, enabling them effectively to launch programmes based on already accredited qualifications. They will also assist with seconded staff and with the development of new staff through high level academic and teaching development programmes.
This is certainly the point at which I must thank all the stakeholders who have played a significant role in this initiative particularly the University of the Free State and Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Without doubt, their contributions have already and will continue to enormously enhance the work of Sol Plaatje University.
The second pillar is the individuals who have been appointed to govern and lead the Sol Plaatje University during this early development phase.
I would like to thank the Interim University Council members, led by Ms Jenny Glenny, for taking up the challenge of steering the institution through its initial stages. I can assure the Interim Council of our full support as, with their vision and leadership, they lay the foundation of what I can confidently say will be a great institution. I know that the Interim Council has met frequently and is busy with the exciting task of building the foundations for the long term teaching and research programme.
The Interim Council is well aware that quality leadership and sound management of the university is crucial. The Interim Council has the responsibility to appoint the interim management team and constitute a full Council within the next six months. They are the midwives of the university’s future, charged with ensuring that those who go on to run the university are capable of mobilising stakeholders around the university’s vision.
I would like to urge the Interim Council to lay a very strong foundation for this University to effectively link with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), so that its scientific potential is full exploited by the university.
The third pillar is the identity and character of the university
That this university is named after Sol Plaatje, the intellectual, linguist, politician, translator and writer, proclaims our pride in our history and heritage. This is why we have chosen heritage month to launch this great institution to be. We are proud also of the legacy of our leaders who have played a significant role in the emancipation of our people. The logo of the Sol Plaatje University emphasises its truly African identity and , draws on the heritage of the region.
Sol Plaatje was a founder member and the first Secretary General of the African National Congress, the ruling party today. We can say that he was one of the pioneers whose work has, one hundred years later, led amongst other achievements to the formation of this University. As an activist and politician, Plaatje dedicated his life to the liberation of the oppressed in South Africa. The fruits of his work are being harvested today.
I also wish to thank the family of Sol Plaatje, led by Malume Sebeka Plaatje, for their full and unequivocal support and acceptance of the naming of this institution after their grandfather and great grandfather, Sol Plaatje. To us this shows an understanding that our heroes deserve to be recognised without any expectation of any personal reward to members of the family. We pledge to continue working with you Malume as we move forward.
The Sol Plaatje University will build on this great figure’s legacy. It will be a space for ideas, knowledge production and acquisition, intellectual debates and stimulation, and above all academic freedom. As such, the university will be a site of higher learning which will give expression to democracy and social justice whilst contributing to the transformation, growth and development of our country’s economy.
Democracy and social justice provide the foundation for greater levels of participation in the political, social, cultural and economic spheres, enriching and creating a better life for all. South Africa needs spaces such as this. We are building where apartheid maimed and destroyed; opening minds to freedom where apartheid attempted, in the end unsuccessfully I am glad to say, to limit and close them.
The fourth pillar is the physical development of the university
The construction of the University Square on which we will unveil the plaque today marks the start of erecting the central campus of the Sol Plaatje University. The plan divides the campus into zones of development and stages of implementation:
- the Northern Campus, which has the Oppenheimer Memorial Park as its focus;
- the Central Campus which incorporates a number of smaller properties; and
- the Southern Campus at Hoffe Park.
To accommodate the 2014 intake of the university, the focus is on the conversion and renovation of existing buildings. The first new buildings to be constructed will be on the Central Campus. They will be completed in time for the start of the 2015 academic year.
While construction proceeds at the Central Campus, planning approval will be acquired for further development, followed by implementation at the iconic campus around the Oppenheimer Memorial Park.
From humble beginnings, we expect the university to make its contribution as part of a single, integrated, articulated, differentiated, nationally coordinated higher education system, focused on addressing the pressing development challenges of South Africa.
There is overwhelming evidence indicating a strong positive correlation between higher education and economic growth. This has propelled universities towards the centre of national development policies with institutions of higher learning required to make a substantial contribution to development priorities. This is well captured in South Africa’s National Development Plan which states that “universities are key to developing a nation”.
Nowhere have developmental states succeeded in bringing about social transformation and technological modernisation without a concerted effort aimed at educating their people. Developmental states have been able to direct their educational systems, especially their higher education sectors, towards addressing key development priorities.
This involves a single-minded determination to establish close articulation between the needs of the economy and the production of necessary skills, recognising that higher education institutions have a vital role to play in contributing to institutional, social and economic capacity building and renewal.
Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that knowledge has become the most important factor of production and that access to information and knowledge, and the capacity to process and apply it, is a precondition for economic growth and development. Universities, as places of knowledge, are therefore critical for the development of a knowledge economy.
South Africa seeks to build itself as a developmental state and the Sol Plaatje University can make a worthwhile contribution to development if, as we confidently believe, it achieves academic excellence. The curriculum will be characterised by rigorously conceptualised and designed programmes of high quality. Continuous curriculum innovation and renewal must ensure that graduate capabilities are developed to meet the needs of the economy and society.
Excellence in teaching and learning must be evident in a vibrant culture open to debate, vigorous contestation and questioning of assumptions. Teaching approaches that cater for the needs of diverse students from different backgrounds should be mainstreamed.
Technology-enabled teaching and learning should not be add-ons to existing methods and approaches, but should rather be used as a means to transform pedagogies and empower students.
When they have experienced such a stimulating environment we expect graduates to have the knowledge, skills and experience to enter the labour market successfully or to create their own work opportunities, in so doing contributing to the advancement of an equitable society.
In short, our vision of academic excellence involves first-rate programmes, vibrant teaching and learning and an environment where exploration, questioning and inquiry are fundamental, with graduates entering the wider world to become critically engaged and intellectually empowered citizens.
The Sol Plaatje University must attract the best academics in South Africa, on the continent and even in the world. This will require a partnership between government and the private sector. Therefore the linkage between industry and the university needs to be strong. This city has an extraordinary history of mining and industrial activity.
Sol Plaatje University should help restore it to its former industrial glory, remembering and learning however not just from the creative but viciously oppressive mining magnates of their day, but also from the humanism and moral strength and courage of its greatest residents, Sol Plaatje chief amongst them.
We expect this university to be research active and become a powerhouse of knowledge production.
Special measures must be introduced to ensure that black people, previously excluded from such opportunities, in particular women, are brought to centre stage in knowledge production. The university must be established as a knowledge partner nationally and in the region. Outreach programmes ranging from teaching to research must benefit surrounding communities such as those of Galeshewe Township.
Establishing the university as a centre of academic excellence, equipped with modern infrastructure and facilities is a daunting task, but I have no doubt that the Interim Council will rise to the occasion.
The fifth pillar is a progressive, comprehensive university linked to the rest of our post-school system
The Sol Plaatje University shall be a comprehensive university that offers certificate, diploma, and degree programmes, in order to cater for both mid- level skills as well as production of professionals with degrees.
In addition this university will, right from the start, establish linkages with the rest of the post-school education and training system, especially with the FET Colleges, community colleges and. The Sector Education and Training authorities. It must be an institution that will establish an articulated relationship with our college institutions.
We must also build this universi as a progressive university whose programmes and activities must be immersed in, and guided by, our developmental objectives as a developing country aimed at addressing the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and poverty. It must be an institution that prides itself in servicing the children of the workers and poor of our country.
The orientation of Sol Plaatje University must be developmental and progressive, and not another bastion of neo-liberalism and reaction. Let us also take this opportunity to thank the pledges made by Anglo American and De Beers. We hope this will set an example in university-industry partnerships for the rest of our system.
I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Premier of the Northern Cape, Ms Sylvia Lucas, the Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training and the entire DHET team for the sterling work they have done in ensuring that we reach this milestone. I trust that we will continue to work together to ensure that Sol Plaatje University grows into a world-class institution. Let us work together to ensure that the Sol Plaatje University becomes a higher education institution South Africa can be proud of.
I thank you!
