Page 170 - UniZulu Annual Report 2020

COUNCIL’S REPORT ON TRANSFORMATION
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) are among institutions established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 as State institutions supporting constitutional democracy.These institutions are accountable and report on all their functions to the National Assembly.
Both these institutions have monitored and made • Greater credence must be given to the inclusion
recommendations to HEIs on areas of concern. Since 2018, the CGE has been calling UNIZULU to public hearings to account on gender transformation
and made specific recommendations for the Institution on areas that need improvement. Recommendations from both institutions were:
• All universities should have functioning SRCs and trade
unions that form part of the transformation plans and strategies and were able to monitor institutions to hold them to account.
• University councils should be required to submit annual reports on the progress they had made at their respective institution.
• Universities must ensure that their human resource policies prioritise the recruitment of underrepresented and/or previously disadvantaged persons, particularly academics and leaders in senior posts. The CGE’s specific recommendation was for the appointment of females in the top two echelons of university leadership by 2020.
• Universities and faculties must implement adequate and effective early warning systems that could identify students requiring additional support early on, with the view to improve success rates and decrease attrition rates.
of African languages when providing interpretation services. A specific recommendation was made on the inclusion of sign language.
• University departments and academics must regularly review the content of curricula to ensure that the content, as well as the method of teaching, are socially relevant and responsive to the development needs of the country.
• Transformation should be included as a key performance area in the agreements of executives.
The CGE further recommended that UNIZULU develops a transformative gender policy with a specific focus on: flexible working time; a maternity and paternity leave policy; gender- based violence and sexual harassment policies; a transition and or transgender health policy; and a non-discriminatory student housing policy.
As the main custodian of higher education, the DHET has developed a Transformation Barometer. Universities are expected to use this barometer as a guide to develop their plans and a yardstick to measure performance. This barometer has identified specific themes with indicators and reporting outcomes that guide universities on key transformation areas. Key themes addressed in this document are outlined in Table 68:
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