Systemic governance, public accountability and institutional autonomy

Coughlan, F., Divala, P., Enslin, P. , Kissack, M. and Mathebula, T. (2007) Systemic governance, public accountability and institutional autonomy. In: Review of Higher Education in South Africa. Council on Higher Education, Pretoria. ISBN 9781919856612

Abstract

University autonomy remains as controversial an issue in South African higher education as it was during the apartheid era. Before 1994, liberal universities1 in South Africa declared support for the principles of academic freedom and university autonomy, in opposing State education policies and State interference, in particular. Their stance was captured in T.B. Davie’s wellknown definition of academic freedom as ‘our freedom from external interference in who shall teach, what we teach, how we teach and whom we teach’ (quoted in Jansen, 2005a:297). In examining the relationship between the State and the higher education sector in South African since 1994, the chosen starting point is a tension reflected in the Higher Education Act (Republic of South Africa 1997:2): ‘it is desirable for higher education institutions to enjoy freedom and autonomy in their relationships with the State within the context of accountability and the national need for advanced skills and scientific knowledge’. The tension at stake may be captured in the question of whether the interpretation of accountability and the measures taken to meet the need for skills and knowledge threaten to undermine academic freedom and university autonomy.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Enslin, Professor Penny
• Authors: Coughlan, F., Divala, P., Enslin, P., Kissack, M., and Mathebula, T.
• Subjects: L Education > L Education (General)
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Journal Name: Triennial Review of Higher Education, Pretoria. Council on Higher Education
• Publisher: Council on Higher Education, Pretoria
• ISBN: 9781919856612