{"id":66999,"date":"2023-02-01T00:01:46","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T05:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=66999"},"modified":"2023-02-01T00:01:46","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T05:01:46","slug":"south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

What happens when those responsible for managing universities cannot trust each other to act with integrity? In a nutshell, as I discuss in\u00a0my new book<\/a>, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities, dysfunction is the consequence.<\/p>\n

This is the situation playing out in some South African universities \u2013 sometimes with fatal results. In early January 2023, a protection officer who was guarding Fort Hare University vice-chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu was\u00a0shot dead<\/a>\u00a0in an apparent assassination attempt. The shooting has\u00a0been linked<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0ongoing investigations<\/a>\u00a0into corruption at the university.<\/p>\n

This appears to be just one example of how eroded trust has led to conflict among university managers that\u2019s spilled into the public domain.<\/p>\n

The principal conclusion I reach in my book is that chronic dysfunction in a sample of South African universities can be explained by two intertwined factors. One is institutional capacity. This is the expert ability to lead, manage and administer universities. The other is institutional integrity \u2013 the steering academic values that buffer universities against instability. Where both capacity and integrity are weak, dysfunction is inevitable.<\/p>\n

Integrity matters<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Individual integrity involves a person acting honestly and doing the right thing. It means consistency in the values that connect words and actions. An\u00a0institution with integrity<\/a>\u00a0has been described as:
\nan organisation that defines and acts within a strong code of ethical conduct and positive values.<\/em>
\nIt doesn\u2019t tolerate deviance from the code by its employees or partners.<\/p>\n

Universities with high levels of institutional integrity vigorously pursue their core mandate. This is rooted in a strong sense of academic values. It is the glue that holds functional universities together and focuses their operations. Those academic values also steady an institution in turbulent times.<\/p>\n

\"\"Such values centre on high-quality teaching, higher learning and cutting-edge research. Together these values advance social and human development. They are prominent on management\u2019s weekly meetings agendas, on senate\u2019s term meetings and on council\u2019s quarterly meetings. Everything revolves around the academic project.<\/p>\n

The case of student protests<\/strong><\/h4>\n

One of the most important functions of academic values is to hold the institution together in times of challenge. For instance, how does an institution react when the integrity of the academic degree is at risk because of a prolonged shutdown?<\/p>\n

In 2015 and 2016, students embarked on\u00a0historic protests<\/a>\u00a0at campuses across South Africa. They demanded free and decolonised higher education. The press for free higher education arose because degree studies were becoming more expensive. This excluded more and more people from university. The decolonisation movement at formerly white universities protested that the curriculum was too European, the professors too white, and the institutional culture too alienating.<\/p>\n

In response to the disruptions, the better-resourced, formerly white universities quickly transitioned to emergency remote teaching to ensure that the academic year was not lost. This highlights the importance of academic values to those institutions.<\/p>\n

By contrast, in 2021, after a dysfunctional university specialising in the health sciences\u00a0was shut down<\/a>\u00a0by routine protests for months on end, the students received their degrees as if nothing had happened.<\/p>\n

The academic project was seriously compromised. But there was little institutional concern about the integrity of the degrees.<\/p>\n

It is quite possible to see a structure or an organisation and to misrecognise it as an institution of higher learning. It would be easy to be fooled by the symbolic functions \u2013 like graduation \u2013 and administrative routines \u2013 such as registration \u2013 of university life and mistake these for a university. As I have\u00a0argued elsewhere<\/a>, a university ceases to exist when the intellectual project no longer defines its identity, infuses its curriculum, energises its scholars, and inspires its students.<\/p>\n

When integrity is undermined<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The crisis of dysfunctional institutions commonly arises when universities make compromised decisions on everything from tenders for infrastructure to appointments of key personnel. Such decisions compound foundational weaknesses and increase the risk of systemic failure. This is how institutional dysfunction begins and is sustained: through the breaching of institutional integrity.<\/p>\n

The institutional integrity of vulnerable institutions is weakened, for example, through the decisions it makes about personnel appointments and promotions. Critical skill sets are compromised by populating crucial positions in administration with friends and family members. In one instance, as I document in the book, a whistle-blower at a serially dysfunctional university gave the new administrator \u201ca list of all the family members appointed by the vice-chancellor\u201d. Action was promised. None was taken.<\/p>\n

The integrity of the academy is undermined even more when people who would not enjoy such elevation at an established university are promoted to senior academic positions in the name of equity.<\/p>\n

And the governance of an institution is placed at serious risk through the appointment to council of junior members who have never governed anything in their lives. A university council is the most senior body responsible for governance. It should consist of senior people from professional fields with the experience to govern a higher education institution.<\/p>\n

Tackling the crisis<\/strong><\/h4>\n

There is no shortcut to restoring the institutional integrity of a chronically dysfunctional university.<\/p>\n

It requires the appointment of smaller, professional councils without political interference. It demands competent leaders who are not beholden to political parties or factions. These leaders must hold strong convictions about the importance of academic values in the gradual rebuilding of a university.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Jonathan Jansen is a Distinguished Professor at Stellenbosch University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What happens when those responsible for managing universities cannot trust each other to act with integrity? In a nutshell, as I discuss in\u00a0my new book, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities, dysfunction is the consequence. This is the situation playing out in some South African universities \u2013 sometimes with fatal results. […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[2085],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-66999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-higher-education","tag-corruption"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSouth Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What happens when those responsible for managing universities cannot trust each other to act with integrity? In a nutshell, as I discuss in\u00a0my new book, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities, dysfunction is the consequence. This is the situation playing out in some South African universities \u2013 sometimes with fatal results. […]\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-01T05:01:46+00:00\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/SAcompass.jpg\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kevin\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"headline\":\"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-01T05:01:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":904,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/SAcompass.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"corruption\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Higher Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/\",\"name\":\"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions - World leading higher education information and services\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/SAcompass.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-01T05:01:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/SAcompass.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/SAcompass.jpg\",\"width\":680,\"height\":383},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"World leading higher education information and services\",\"description\":\"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee\",\"name\":\"Kevin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kevin\"},\"description\":\"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/world.edu\\\/author\\\/kevin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions - World leading higher education information and services","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions - World leading higher education information and services","og_description":"What happens when those responsible for managing universities cannot trust each other to act with integrity? In a nutshell, as I discuss in\u00a0my new book, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities, dysfunction is the consequence. This is the situation playing out in some South African universities \u2013 sometimes with fatal results. […]","og_url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/","og_site_name":"World leading higher education information and services","article_published_time":"2023-02-01T05:01:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/SAcompass.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Kevin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kevin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/"},"author":{"name":"Kevin","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"headline":"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions","datePublished":"2023-02-01T05:01:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/"},"wordCount":904,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/SAcompass.jpg","keywords":["corruption"],"articleSection":["Higher Education"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/","name":"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions - World leading higher education information and services","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/SAcompass.jpg","datePublished":"2023-02-01T05:01:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/SAcompass.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/SAcompass.jpg","width":680,"height":383},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/south-africas-dysfunctional-universities-the-consequences-of-corrupt-decisions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/world.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"South Africa\u2019s dysfunctional universities: the consequences of corrupt decisions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/","name":"World leading higher education information and services","description":"Global Higher Education Jobs, University jobs, Lecturer & tenure jobs.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/world.edu\/#\/schema\/person\/42c1c1d5ff7ffbdf0bd50ed94c6ae6ee","name":"Kevin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g8ba4c352a279c450aa9435d770c1ebf4","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1e8d491a5f9b9bf3db67c9e46abbba7bb06b26b458bd5025c55e0a4b9b60ea8a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kevin"},"description":"Kevin is founder of the world.edu project. The past 28 years have been involved in publishing to the education sector in print and the internet. Kevin has a degree in Education and has a many years experience in developing companies and projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/world.edu"],"url":"https:\/\/world.edu\/author\/kevin\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66999"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67002,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66999\/revisions\/67002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66999"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/world.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=66999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}