Abstract
The South African higher education system is facing dramatic new changes. One of the most challenging issues is that of multiculturaiity. Multiculturaiity in higher education exists next to other challenges such as a new National Qualifications Framework; quality assurance initiatives; an Act on Higher Education in which a New social and academic role is given to higher education; the massification of the university system; increased access to higher education by former disadvantaged students; and the emphasis on social and human development by means of higher education programmes. This article will reflect on the way in which multiculturality should be understood with in the new context of higher education in South Africa.
Highlights
The South African higher education system is characterised by dramatic changes ranging from a paradigm shift from teaching to learning; a new higher education system documented in a Higher Education Act 101 of 1997; a new qualifications Act for Education (Act 58 of 1995); massification of the system by especially students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds; limited funding; the integration of cultures within higher education; as well as affirmative action with a view to capacity-building and transformation
Seen from a higher education point o f view, all these developments are of equal importance
Multiculturality is in p r in c ip le not a new reality (Van der Walt, 1997), it is an ever increasing reality in South African higher education
Summary
The South African higher education system is characterised by dramatic changes ranging from a paradigm shift from teaching to learning; a new higher education system documented in a Higher Education Act 101 of 1997; a new qualifications Act for Education (Act 58 of 1995); massification of the system by especially students coming from disadvantaged backgrounds; limited funding; the integration of cultures (including language and ethnicity) within higher education; as well as affirmative action with a view to capacity-building and transformation These changes as well as other are informed by national and international developments. The article concludes with a per spective on the role that multiculturality can play within the context of a new university system
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