The Conundrum of Decolonisation and Afrophobia: A Case for South African Higher Education

Abstract

In this chpater, Joseph Hungwe and Joseph Divala present an exposition of the contradictory interplay between decolonisation and afrophobia in South African higher education. They argue that afrophobia encumbers the envisioned objectives of decolonisation of higher education in Africa. Decolonisation of higher education ultimately seeks to establish a dispensation that is underpinned by ideals of non-discrimination along race, ethnicity, nationalities and other forms of social diversities that characterise social composition of African higher education. It can therefore be claimed that decolonisation of higher education is tailored towards the promotion and sustenance of equal social relations in higher education, on the one hand. On the other hand, afrophobic practices and attitudes entrench and maintain perceptions of a society structured along cultural superiority and marginalisation. The concurrence of afrophobia and decolonisation of higher education in South Africa brings to the fore a conundrum, which this chapter exposes.