Abstract
Background: The discussions related to access in higher education collate enrolment with the provision of education. Yet, when considering what the university education should provide, some enrolments still restrict capabilities, freedom and rights to quality education. The article argues that the debates regarding access to higher education are incomplete without addressing this divide. Aim: The article aims to expose the injustices that exist in some university spaces in sub-Saharan Africa. Space is politically and ideologically produced, a situation that legitimises a need for the exposure of injustices in terms of access to quality and dignified physical and technological resources for education. The article posits that if the spatial injustices that are embedded in the universities are not exposed, the universities will fight endless battles towards providing adequate access for students and academics. Setting: The article reports on research conducted in three of the seven universities in sub-Saharan Africa that participated in a research project. Method: A multiple qualitative case study design was followed. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with academics and focus group interviews with students in the universities. Results: Quantity and quality of the physical and technological structures in these universities are dehumanising, unjust and unfair to students and staff who must compete economically with their counterparts in other spheres of society. Conclusion: The physical and technological structures in the universities demand a reconceptualisation of access. Presently, transformation, as it pertains to access and spatial justice, is minimal. A focussed developmental strategy is proposed for the universities in order to improve and provide relevant access to knowledge and skills for relevance and quality.
Highlights
Access to higher education is a more complex topic than is often portrayed
The findings illustrate how sub-standard education for the disadvantaged communities has been naturalised in these universities through spatial designs and plans as well as spatial practices – some of which sound unbelievable but are real to those who experience them, those who are directly affected by their unjust nature (Pirie 1983)
Whilst the world speaks of digitisation and automation of knowledge and practice in higher education, there are still disquieting socio-spatial injustices that haunt some universities in sub-Saharan Africa and which, if justice matters, should not be overlooked
Summary
Access to higher education is a more complex topic than is often portrayed. This is because it is one thing to have access to the university from outside and it is another to access quality education in a spatially just context when already in the university. There has been copious research on issues related to the former, but not much on the latter Researchers, such as Martinez-Vargas, Walker and Mkwananzi (2020), Mathebula (2019) and Alger (2018), map the various contextual factors that limit access to higher education of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and their success in this area. Some such researches critique the under-preparedness of students at school level to transition smoothly to university (Mendaglio 2013; Nel, Troskie-de Bruin & Bitzer 2009; Walker 2019; Wilson-Strydom 2015, 2016). The article argues that the debates regarding access to higher education are incomplete without addressing this divide
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