| Summary: | This study has focused on a critical evaluation of the effective functioning of
the Institutional Forum at the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher
Education (PU for CHE) during the period 1999 to 2003.
The transition of South-Africa (during 1990-1994) from an apartheid
government to a democratic state has brought about many changes, including
the transformation in the higher education sector. The higher education sector
is a unique sector, typically consisting of institutions where knowledge is
generated. The generation of knowledge and information has strong ties with
independent teaching and research as well as community projects. Higher
education institutions differ remarkably from each other, and each has its own
ethos, mission, vision and institutional autonomy. Only higher education can
contribute to research, training of highly skilled workers and the development
of relevant, useful information to afford developing communities the capacity
to participate in a fast changing national and global context.
As part of the transformation of higher education, institutional forums were
established by the Minister of Education. These forums had to contribute to
the council and management of institutions, to advise them on a number of
issues as stipulated in the Higher Education Act, 1997, section 31 (1)(2)(3).
Higher education institutions, however, interpreted the establishment and
functioning of forums in different ways. Some of the forums experienced an
identity crisis in their endeavours to define a place for themselves in the
governance structure of higher education. Forums were not regarded as
highly effective because some of the higher education institutions still ignored
the principle of cooperative governance. An imbalance was experienced with
regard to membership within the forums, and membership consisted to a large
extent of union representatives. Similar problems were experienced at the PU
for CHE. (In this mini-dissertation there are referred to problems rather than
issues because the term problem is a general acknowledged term in the
higher education context.)
The above-mentioned problems led to the research of the following aspects:
0 What did transformation in higher education entail?
0 What did the Higher Education Act (Nr. 101 of 1997) exactly determine
with regard to the role that Institutional Forums should play in the
transformation of the higher education sector before 2003 and how was it
interpreted at the PU for CHE?
Did the Institutional Forum at the PU for CHE succeed in its goal to
motivate transformation during the period 1999 to 2003?
These aspects are investigated within the capacity of this mini-dissertation === Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.
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