Enhancing Sustainable Electoral Democracy Development in Higher Education 1 to 4 April 2007, Benoni RESPONDENT presented at the Student Representative Councils Colloquium by Prof Rachel Vuyiswa Gumbi Member of the Executive Committee: Higher Education South Africa (HESA) Electoral Commission: Election House, 260 Walker Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria PO Box 7943, Pretoria, 0001 Tel +27 (0)12 428 5700 Fax +27 (0)12 428 5784 Department of Education: Sol Plaatje House, 123 Schoeman Street, Pretoria Private Bag X895, Pretoria. 0001 Tel +27(0)12312 5911 Fax +27 (0)12 325 6260
2 1. INTRODUCTION HESA would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the Department and the Ministry of Education for extending the invitation to this young organization which aims at bringing together the Committee of Technikon Principals and the Vice-chancellors organization; hence we celebrated this unity in 2005. HESA endorses the need for applying the democratic values in the Higher Education Sector regarding the electoral process based on democratic values. South Africa is a democratic society and HESA endorses the fundamental principles hence we are hoping at the end of this colloquium all the 23 institutions are going to apply the principles of electoral democracy in this arena. We have noted with pride the support received by Higher Education regarding SRC elections by the electoral commission and we would like to commend them for the support to-date. We are committed at HESA to the promotion of the values of good citizenship of our multi-cultural society and we hope our youth leaders will realize the need to embark on new strategies to promote electoral democracy in the Higher Education Sector. 2. DEMOCRACY 2.1 Elements of democracy According to language experts as per www.google.co.za (6 September 2006), the concept of democracy is based on the simple principle that when making an important public decision, the majority vote should prevail because the will of the majority outweighs the wants of the minority. Other sources linked to social equality refer to democracy as rule of the people. It also includes the following elements: Open discussion Direct voting on significant issues Policy formation in all realms of social life Economics Education Religion Public life This is an approach where a country is run by its citizens through elected representatives, where all adults are entitled to vote.
3 Parliament is made up of representatives from the people. The fundamental premise of equality is applied to address different needs including youth s aspirations. This is the point of departure of the governance in the higher education sector; hence all the students have a freedom of participation in the electoral process for the leadership in the students representative council. All students have the freedom to vote for the leadership of their choice and not to execute their voting activities under duress. 2.2 Democracy in South Africa When South Africa adopted a democratic government after 27 April 1994, these fundamental guidelines were adopted hence the civil society, the different political formations are accommodated within the National council of Provinces which replaced the Senate of the previous government and the National Assembly which is the supreme body regarding policy making and legislation. A number of countries use the same set of principles regarding democracy but there are unique differences if one studies the USA model versus the Canadian model. According to Perumal (2003), in a democratic society the following fundamental principles emerge: Civic freedom of speech Assertion of one s rights in terms of equality Political Transformation of society equal chance of participating in policy and decision making by all groups including the youth (students as well) Collective, participatory and democratic engagement of citizens in determining community affairs e.g. Students participating freely in SRC elections without fear of intimidation based on ideology Co-operation and negotiation over the distribution of resources e.g. resourced allocation of SRC budget for enrichment of the students and leadership training
4 Social Recognition of a citizen as a unique individual with special needs e.g. students with disability needs to be respected and should participate fully in student representative councils Enable social and material conditions that promote an ethics of justice and care. HESA is optimistic that with time this type of environment will prevail in higher education to enhance the principles of democracy From the inception of the fundamentals of democracy South Africa has developed a number of policies based on Act 108 of 1996 (Constitution) which is the Supreme Law of our country. The constitution makes provision for every individual to utilize his or her knowledge, skills to the highest levels as we use the Bill of Rights as a base. HESA is striving for the application of this fundamental premise in higher education as all students must be given an equal chance of maximizing their potential within the framework of democratic principles. This must be applicable even in times of the electoral process as we cannot have institutions of higher education being used as a base for political intolerance; hence we endorse the goals of this conference including the promotion of electoral democracy in this sector. 3. GOALS HESA is committed to the provision of a conducive milieu for the development of the students as persons and professionals, as we need human resources that will provide analytical skills in response to the needs of our diverse society. The following are critical for all the 23 institutions to make this a reality: Institutional culture that promotes democracy An environment that promotes dialogue A system that promotes vertical and horizontal communication A milieu that promotes a partnership for better productivity An environment that accommodates diversity A system that uses the fundamental characteristics of the electoral democratic values A milieu that promotes growth and development Provision of development programmes that provides growth for responsible citizenship An environment that promotes creativity and innovation of the youth
5 Conducive environment to maximize the potential of all the students and personnel The leadership in HESA is committed to making the environment in the Higher Education Sector conducive for the process of enhancing democracy as we all value stability and hope from 2007 this sector will boast of unity in diversity as depicted in our coat of arms. 4. CHALLENGES FACING SRC S A pillar for transformation Agents of change Provision of leadership for governance Promotion of Internal democracy with student organizations Active participation at faculty board level, senate and council Assist in building a democratic milieu Accommodating institutional diversity Apply the principle of transparency Accountability for internal and external democracy 5. CONCLUSION HESA would like to commend the Department of Education with the support from the Ministry for their co-ordination of this National Colloquium. The SRCs and the student societies are commended for being active participants in this forum as it is critical for our National transformation agenda. Special appreciation to the IEC and Parliament for the input in this forum and the different experts as we will use the deliberations as a base for planning to enable our sector to become responsive to the needs of the youth linked to governance, democracy and development. We are committed to the finalization of a policy framework that will enable these institutions to function optimally within the governance structures including the Student Representative Councils which should participate in all aspects related to institutional governance. Institutional stability can be maintained by partnerships linked to all governance structures as all the parties must understand the premise of accountability. Participatory democracy is the order of the day in the 21 st century.
6 6. REFERENCES 1. Act 108 of 1996 South African Constitution. 2. Barrows, L C (2001), Higher Education Institutions and their regions: Linking the local and global. Journal of Higher Education in Europe, vol. XXVI, no. 3. 3. Cheng, Y C (1994). Principal s leadership as a critical factor for school performance: evidence from multi-levels of primary schools. Vol. no. 5 no. 3 4. Daft, Richard L (2003) Management. 6 th edition. Thomson, South Western. 5. Gilliland, M; Tyman, A (1997). Leadership and Transformation in an Environment of unpredictability. CUASA/EFFECT Journal, vol. no. 20 number 3, 30, 31 & 51-58. 6. Le Grange, L (2002). Challenges for higher education transformation in South Africa: integrating the local and global SAJHE/SATH journal, vol. 16 no. 1, 67-73. 7. Oramas, Maria Jose Garcia. A Gendered Education towards the Fulfilment of Democracy. University of Veracruz, Mexico. 8. UNESCO paper (1997). 9. Walrod, S (2001). Leadership management transformation: Understanding organizational change. Conference proceedings 10. http//www.google.co.za Definitions of democracy