Page 68 - CAO 25th Ann Coffee Table Book

PROF. JONATHAN JANSEN
VICE-CHANCELLOR AND RECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FREE STATE (UFS)
19 August 2015
Summary of the keynote speech delivered at the 2014/2015 Annual General Meeting entitled ‘The State of Education in South Africa as Reflected by University Applications’.
Prof. Jonathan Jansen addressed leaders from the four KwaZulu-Natal universities and a number of TVET and private colleges with his customary candour and passion, getting straight to the heart of what he believes to be at the root of the problem of South Africa’s universities, and ultimately, the failure of South Africa’s education system.
He began by illustrating that the solution doesn’t lie in expenditure. South Africa was shown to spend more money on education than most other
countries yet continues to yield poor results. Jansen suggested that while “we can spend on education till we’re blue in the face, our problem is translating resources into results.” He went on to say that the cause of this problem has little to do with university applications and admissions, but lies instead in an “extremely weak” education foundation or base.
Prof. Jansen insisted that, “Failure has become institutionalised in South Africa... how many of you had at least one professor who said: by the end of the first semester, only 50% of you will be left. How can you tell people they will fail before they’ve even tried?” Citing
this and a myriad examples; from poor attendance of learners and educators to ever-declining pass rates, unstandardised university entrance requirements to “dysfunctional people in parliament” being used as role models, Jansen details how students are set up to fail and how our “dysfunctional system” is kept afloat.
The solution? According to Prof. Jansen, South Africa needs to stop offering short-term stopgaps, and rather follow Singapore’s lead of devising a 20-year plan. But where does one start? Jansen suggests going back to basics, from values and encouragement on a learner and student level, to real transformation and higher standards on an educational-institutional level.
It starts, Prof. Jansen believes, with everyone involved in education, from school to university level,
questioning how they each contribute to the bigger picture of education in South Africa. “The deal was: if the young people pass, we will make sure you have an opportunity for further education. What are you really doing in the bigger picture? What is your role in effecting real transformation? What is your moral responsibility as leaders?” Jansen defined transformation not in terms of equity but rather something qualitative; where education is the value system that underpins training and technical skills.
He spoke directly to the CAO asking, “Why is it you do what you do? If it’s shuffling papers, giving kids the illusion that you are giving them access to quality education by taking one application fee for five universities... that’s not transformation, that’s administration. I challenge you
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