Globalization, democratization and knowledge production

5.6.1 Perceptions of foreign African students

The researcher experienced great difficulty in finding local African academic and student participants for this study. The black students suggested by other participants turned out to be mainly foreign students. Rhodes’ international reputation may account for its success in recruiting large numbers of students from other African countries. Many African students from Anglophone African countries, who usually prefer to study in Britain, have found South African universities to be a feasible alternative. Foreign students at Rhodes claim that they have chosen to study at Rhodes because it has a reputation equal to most British universities (I: Kabiru). Simon explains that he wanted to do his postgraduate studies outside of Kenya and that he only applied to a UK university and Rhodes on the advice of his mentor, an Oxford postgraduate, who had learned of Rhodes’ reputation through friends at Oxford. Simon is happy with his choice of university: “My eyes were focused on Rhodes. … I never looked back. I still believe for me it is the best university. I feel quite at home here” (I: Simon). This student was so keen to attend Rhodes that he was quite willing to read for a second honours degree before being admitted to the master’s programme. A further drawing card for foreigners may be the unique small-town campus setting and safe environment a small university can offer (I: Duncan). Hence, Rhodes appears to have tremendous potential for cornering the African graduate student market.

Foreign students perceived that they were more acceptable to the institution than local African students (I: Kabiru). According to them, South African students of different races were uncomfortable with each other, and some did not appear comfortable in classes that were largely white (I: Simon). Simon estimates that in one of his classes of 35 students, 28 were white, four were foreign blacks and three were black South Africans.

Furthermore, foreign blacks claim they adapted more easily and were more receptive to different race groups than local black South Africans (I: Simon). Foreign black students found they received better treatment from the university in general because,as noted, they were seen as not wanting to “rattle the system” and because it was expected generally that they would return to their countries once they had completed their degrees (I: Kabiru, Mugo, Simon). Kabiru, for example, claimed:

I learned so many things… being slightly more acceptable because I am a foreigner… You get kind of a feeling that you are perceived as more competent as compared to ordinary black South Africans, you are more switched on, you are more aware… You know sometimes when I think of the Mellon fellowship, we’ve had a number of black foreigners with Mellon scholarships. I can cite at least three and it is almost as if you are filling in where South Africans didn’t fill in, so it is like, you know, when they talk about black you have all these blacks. You know, that… they would rather have foreign blacks because they think foreign blacks are of better quality than the black South Africans… You don’t have a stake here… I am not going to embarrass them because I am going to complete it, so they are sure that they are not going to risk their money and things like that. I suppose you know… we don’t rattle the system. We must work at home.

It would seem that foreign students were benefiting, too, from scholarships and grants intended for developing research capacity among black South Africans. A foreign student confirmed that he had chosen Rhodes instead of Wits University because Rhodes had granted him a scholarship, whereas Wits had not offered him any funding (I: Mugo). Another foreign student, who found that he could not secure any funding, found a way to earn extra money by obtaining a tutoring position (I: Simon). As can be seen from the citation above, it was expected generally that foreign students would return to their countries once they had completed their degrees (I: Kabiru).

Aside from the lack of an Africa-focus at Rhodes, referred to earlier by some participants as Eurocentricism, a foreign black professor had observed that Africa was often painted as a “sad case scenario,” a basket case out of which nothing much can emerge (I: Simon). It is not surprising then that little value is placed on the need to forge links with Africa even as Rhodes actively recruits students from there.

5.7 CONCLUSION

Rhodes University is a foremost research institution not just among the three universities in my study, but amongst all South African universities, and it is internationally recognized. It has produced the highest per capita research output consistently over a four-year period. Research receives high priority at Rhodes as indicated by management’s orientation towards research and budgetary allocations to research and the library. The university also boasts strong leadership, efficient administration, sound financial systems and good access to resources, both financial and human, together with a traditional collegial ethos.

Most researchers are satisfied with their access to resources and the support they receive from management and the library. Despite its strong position, however, the university is failing to contribute meaningfully to democratization and the transformation process. The new governance structures and equity policies are not being implemented as indicated by the student and staff profile and the alienation experienced by some black staff and students. Hence, while Rhodes is making great strides on the global front, through its efficient management, entrepreneurialism and high academic standards, on the local front it has failed to respond to a changing society. Furthermore, the strict merit based approach applied by Rhodes serves to exclude a new generation of students from access to higher education. This is not to dismiss the importance of standards, but to caution against standards being used as a device that privileges certain groups and classes of people.

There is evidence that Rhodes is cornering the African market, as 16.5 % of its students are international students from Africa, some of whom seem to have chosen Rhodes because it resembles closely the British institutions at which they had hoped to study. Other foreign African students, however, were surprised to find that Rhodes was Eurocentric in its focus, based on the curriculum, journal holdings, the absence of networking with African universities and the way Africa is positioned in the discourse – ‘ a basket case’. It seems, as some participants have observed, that Rhodes has been done a disservice by not having been included a merger with other Eastern Cape institutions. This appears to have sent a message to the institution that the existing status quo is acceptable, and that it may proceed with business as usual. This pervading discourse at Rhodes – “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” – is reflected in a myopic approach which may be detrimental to the institution in the future. There is no institution in any sector in this former colonial and apartheid state that does not require transformation from the old order. Rhodes has much to contribute to the higher education sector and to the development of the poor rural province in which it is located through its rich knowledge producing processes. In order to do so, it will have to make a concerted effort to engage more meaningfully in the democratization process and develop more of an Africa-focus.