Rethinking decolonized universities: a case for proverbs (Dika le Diema) and Ubuntu in humanizing South African universities

Lesiba Tumishang Ledwaba; Sandiso Mahlala

doi:10.20525/ijrbs.v13i5.3467

Authors

Lesiba Tumishang Ledwaba North-West University
Sandiso Mahlala Durban University of Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v13i5.3467

Keywords:

Proverbs, Dika le Diema, Epistemologies, Pedagogy, Decoloniality, Racism, Ubuntu

Abstract

The debates over the decolonisation of higher education in South Africa have resulted in differing perspectives on epistemologies and pedagogical techniques. While discussions rage about the conceptualisation and methods of decolonising higher education, as well as the practical efficiency of applying nuanced epistemologies, students continue to face racism, discrimination, and exclusion in higher education institutions. In its broadest sense, the foundation for the conversation on inclusion is founded on the elephant in the room, apartheid, which has been an Achilles heel in the change of South Africa's educational landscape. The apartheid curriculum, in all of its stages, largely prepared workers for low-wage, exploitative work. It showed little concern for emphasising Afrocentric foundations that expanded Black communities' cultural and traditional value systems. Bantu education's harsh social engineering prowess attempted to sidestep African philosophical frameworks (Ubuntu), which are crucial for motivating pupils' confidence, consciousness, and self-actualization. Against this backdrop, this study views decolonisation as a chance to include African languages, value systems, histories, customs, beliefs, cultures, and experiences in higher education. This paper argues that the abstract inclusion of African languages devoid of intrinsic depth and essence is a patronising exercise purposed to vaguely position African languages alongside English and Afrikaans; doing so prohibits a deeper humanistic appreciation and knowledge of African traditions and indigenous systems. This paper emphasizes the crucial role of African languages and indigenous knowledge systems in addressing racism and inequality, and encourages their gradual and benign incorporation into higher education curricula.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Alexander, N. (1997). Language policy and planning in the new South Africa. African Sociological Review/Revue Africaine de Sociologie, 82-92.

Bunting, I. (2006). The higher education landscape under apartheid. In Transformation in higher education: Global pressures and local realities (pp. 35–52). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4006-7_3

Dauda, B. (2017). African humanism and Ethics: The cases of Ubuntu and Omoluwabi. The Palgrave Handbook of African Philosophy, pp. 475–491. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59291-0_31

Etieyibo, E. (2017). Ubuntu and the Environment. The Palgrave Handbook of African Philosophy, pp. 633–657. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59291-0_41

Freire, P. (2020). Pedagogy of the oppressed. In Toward a sociology of education (pp. 374–386). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003060635-5

Heleta, S. (2016). Decolonisation of higher education: Dismantling epistemic violence and Eurocentrism in South Africa. Transformation in Higher Education, 1(1), 1–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/the.v1i1.9

Hlatshwayo, M. N. (2020). Being Black in South African higher education: An intersectional insight. Acta Academica, 52(2), 163-18.

Kessi, S., Marks, Z., & Ramugondo, E. (2020). Decolonising African Studies. Critical African Studies, 12(3), 271–282. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2020.1813413

Kosch, I. M. (2016). Lemmatisation of fixed expressions: the case of Proverbs in Northern Sotho. Lexikos, 26, 145-161. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5788/26-1-1354

Letseka, M. (2013). Educating for Ubuntu/botho: lessons from Basotho Indigenous education. Open Journal of Philosophy, 3(02), 337-344 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2013.32051

Louw, H., & Schenck, R. (2002). Learning through rediscovery and reclaiming local/indigenous knowledge and skills. Africanus, 32(2), 93-108.

Machobane, M. M. (1996). Gender stereotypes in Sesotho proverbs. Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies, 7(1), 34-41.

Mapadimeng, M. (2018). Youth theory in South Africa: an indigenous African perspective derived from Sepedi idioms and proverbs. Southern African Journal for Folklore Studies, 28(1), 1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25159/1016-8427/4292

Menkiti, I. (2017). Community, communism, communitarianism: An African intervention. The Palgrave Handbook of African Philosophy, pp. 461–473. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59291-0_30

Murris, K. (2016). # Rhodes must fall: A posthumanist orientation to decolonising higher education institutions. South African Journal of Higher Education, 30(3), 274–294. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20853/30-3-653

Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. J. (2018). Epistemic freedom in Africa: Deprovincialization and decolonization. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429492204

Plessis, T. D. (2006). From monolingual to bilingual higher education: The repositioning of historically Afrikaans-medium universities in South Africa. Language policy, 5, 87-113. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-005-5627-5

Prah, K. K. (2009). Mother-tongue education in Africa for emancipation and development: Towards the intellectualisation of African languages. Languages and education in Africa: A comparative and transdisciplinary analysis, pp. 83–104.

Ramoupi, N. L. L. (2014). African Languages Policy in the Education of South Africa: 20 Years of Freedom or Subjugation? Journal of Higher Education in Africa/Revue de l'enseignement supérieur en Afrique, 12(2), 53-93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v12i2.1530

Tabata, I. B. (1960). Education for barbarism. Pall Mall.

Verhoef, G. (2001). Informal financial service institutions for survival: African women and stokvels in urban South Africa, 1930–1998. Enterprise & Society, 2 (2), 259–296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/es/2.2.259