University autonomy and academic freedom in South Africa
Throughout the history of universities, university autonomy and academic freedom have come ~o be regardeci as indispensable if the university has to fulfill its function of generating and disseminating knowledge and information for the benefit of society. Al though these are often conflated, the...
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| Format: | Others |
| Language: | en |
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2015
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| Online Access: | Dlamini, C. R. M. (1996) University autonomy and academic freedom in South Africa, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18014> http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18014 |
| Summary: | Throughout the history of universities, university autonomy
and academic freedom have come ~o be regardeci as indispensable
if the university has to fulfill its function of generating
and disseminating knowledge and information for the benefit of
society. Al though these are often conflated, they are
distinguishable though interdependent. Autonomy relates to
the self-governance of the university without external
interference. Academic freedom entails the freedom of an
individual academic to hold whatever views, orthodox or
unorthodox, without censure or other penalty.
critical inquiry.
It also entails
Although academic autonomy and freedom are critical to the
academic function, they are not beyond dispute. There is
always a continuous debate on what are the proper boundaries
of legitimate academic autonomy and freedom. These boundaries
are not fixed and keep on shifting. The shifting is often
caused by government intervention into university education by
way of subsidising it.
As a quid pro quo for subsidizing university education, the
government often feels entitled to stipulate conditions for
the granting of such subsidies. Various governments follow
different ways of doing this. There is a general trend in
terms of which the government is defining the degree of
academic autonomy. With autonomy it emphasizes accountability
and with academic freedom it emphasizes responsibility. These
are not mutually in conflict.
iii
Al though universities cherish their autonomy and academic
freedom, these are always subject to threat. These cannot
flourish in an authoritarian culture, but can only thrive in a
democratic culture where other civil liberties are respected.
The reason for this is that human freedom is indivisible and
academic freedom cannot survive when other rights ar-e
violated.
The South African Constitution protects academic freedom.
This is not generally done in most constitutions of the world.
The reason why the South African Cons ti tut ion expressly
protects academic freedom is because academic autonomy and
freedom were severely violated in the past. Al though the
protection of academic freedom in the Constitution does not
provide indefeasible security, it makes the way of a
transgressing government difficult. This is important because
even a democratic government can violate academic freedom. === Constitutional, International and Indigenous Law === LL.D. (Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law) |
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