Contextualising Student Activism in South African HE

Building onto my overview of global student activism, its potential contribution in the struggle for democracy and change and the tension between the public good functions of higher education and neoliberal concerns, presented in Chap. 1 , this chapter draws our attention to the relevant historical developments and current trends in student activism in South African higher education. Developments in higher education in relation to the situation prevailing at the time, policies and students’ reactions to such situations and policies are the hallmark of understanding HE student activism. Hence student activism and how student activism of different kinds can, or has, contributed to more democracy and social change is presented, but also considers some of the limitations. Research I draw from here include, but are not limited to, Ahmad (1978), Altbach (1966, 1991), Altbach and Klemenčič (2014), Ashwin and Case (2018), Bosch and Mutsvairo (2017), Fomunyam (2017), Cele and Koen (2003), Naidoo and Ranchod (2018), Van Reenen (2019), Hlatshwayo and Fomunyam (2019), Luescher (2015, 2016), Luescher and Klemenčič (2017), Luescher et al. (2020), Mathebula and Calitz (2018), Reddy (2004), Tumubweinee and Luescher (2019), Ndlovu-Gatsheni (2017) and Van der Merwe and Van Reenen (2016). In addition, I also highlight the relevance and significance of political freedoms to the South African context in relation to the country’s history and future goals in higher education. The need to understand South African higher education in comparison to systems of higher education in different contexts, led Ashwin and Case (2018) to conclude that South African is a ‘crucial case’, as it exhibits some unique characteristics. These characteristics can also be understood drawing on Castells (2009), who reminds us that higher education, notwithstanding its contradictions, can contribute towards the public good through the production of graduates who possess social and technical critical skills. This foregrounds the potential role of higher education in bringing about democracy and social change (Walker and Boni 2013). Acknowledging the contribution of student activism to democracy and change, the chapter picks up on the argument introduced in Chap. 1 , on the contribution of student activism to the development of students’ political capabilities, which matter for justice and transformational change. Again, the chapter demonstrates how, in spite of the growing literature on South African HE student activism, there has not been an attempt to frame student activism in terms of human development and capabilities expansion.