One of the major buzzwords in South Africa in the post-Apartheid era is “transformation,” which refers to the massive adjustment required to move into a truly democratic world and to throw off not only the shackles of official apartheid, but also, and more vexingly, its legacy and deeply ingrained manifestations. Transformation from apartheid recognizes that simply transitioning from National Party rule to the “New South Africa” is insufficient. It also required a massive change in structures throughout all levels of society.
A recent report indicates that there is still a long way to go in South Africa’s universities where discrimination of all kinds is rife. While at first blush this news may come as something of a surprise — universities, after all, are supposed to be bastions of liberal values and open-mindedness — universities are also inculcated with a culture of elitism and traditionalism, not to mention egos and status anxiety. These two value systems oftentimes clash, and in the case of South African universities, the results have not always been good for transformation.