Decolonisation of the curriculum: A case study of the Durban University of Technology in South Africa

Gift Mheta,Bwalya Nyangu Lungu,Thaiurie Govender

doi:10.15700/saje.v38n4a1635

Gift Mheta, Bwalya Nyangu Lungu + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n4a1635

Copy DOI

Abstract

The call for the decolonisation of universities and curricula in South Africa was at the centre of the 2015 Fallist protests. The protests, which left a trail of destruction and many universities closed for periods of time, had as one of their positive outcomes the precipitation of a renewed interest in the decolonisation of university education debate. The debate on decolonisation at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in South Africa is long overdue, given that the Western model of academic organisation on which it, like most South African universities, is based, remains largely Eurocentric. This paper adds to the debate by discussing what decolonisation might mean to the DUT’s students, staff and the greater community. It explores the importance of decolonisation and how this process can be taken forward at DUT. The purpose is not to prescribe how decolonisation is to be done but to open up ways of (re)thinking university curricula and opportunities for further discussion and action. Keywords: Africa; Africanisation; community; curriculum; decolonisation; indigenisation; internationalisation; staff; student; university

Highlights

This paper is as a result of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2017 Annual Performance Plan, which required the University to engage with students and staff with the aim of developing a discussion paper on decolonisation at DUT
It is largely influenced by ideas that were discussed at the workshop conducted by the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) on the 16th of March 2017 under the theme Decolonising the curriculum: A series of unfortunate problematisations
In conclusion, this paper has attempted to shed light on what decolonisation means and how it may be enacted at DUT, which as discussed is a unique university of technology (UoT), whose curriculum can be decolonised by considering its location and the students and community it serves

Summary

Introduction

This paper is as a result of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2017 Annual Performance Plan, which required the University to engage with students and staff with the aim of developing a discussion paper on decolonisation at DUT. This paper is a culmination of the many meetings that the Institution’s Decolonisation Task Team, which comprised both staff (four representatives from the Teaching and Learning ambit, two from the Research, Innovation and Engagement ambit, one post-graduate student, three undergraduate students), convened to deliberate on how a balanced paper on decolonisation of education at DUT could be compiled. In these meetings, many leading scholars on decolonisation of education were discussed and shaped the content and structure of this paper.

How can teaching and learning be constructed to ensure decolonisation?

Findings

Conclusion