From ivory tower to fishbowl: Towards restoring academic freedom and institutional autonomy in public higher education in South Africa
Flip Schutte & Emetia Swart
Abstract
Corruption and maladministration at public universities in South Africa have severely eroded public trust, posing a threat to the very foundations of these institutions. This paper addresses the issue on restoring academic freedom and institutional autonomy while universities regain their credibility and status within the community. Using qualitative methodology, a secondary thematic analysis of literature and interview was followed. Five prominent leaders at public higher education institutions were interviewed. The findings shed light on strategies for institutions to adopt to rebuild stakeholder confidence. The data indicated that institutions of higher learning could rebuild trust by increasing transparency and accountability to the public and engaging with their surrounding communities through various community engagement activities. By prioritising transparency, fostering accountability, and actively engaging with their communities, public institutions of higher learning can reclaim their status as revered institutions and ensure their vital contributions to society are duly recognised and valued.
Keywords
academic freedom, institutional autonomy, community engagement, credibility, universities’ reason for existence
Author information & Contribution
Flip Schutte. Corresponding author. A professor at Stadio Higher Education, South Africa, where he is the research dean and head of the Institute for Postgraduate Studies. He is responsible for the doctoral programme, internationalisation and community engagement. He currently specialises in research methodology. His other interests are entrepreneurship, coaching and mentoring, and institutional research in higher education. Email: flips@stadio.ac.za
Emetia Swart. A postgraduate research program manager at Regenesys Business School, South Africa. She currently specialises in educational management more specifically higher education in South Africa research. She also strives to be a scholar in other Marketing and Management related fields.
“All authors equally contributed to the conception, design, preparation, data gathering and analysis, and writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.”
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This work was not supported by any funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
Not applicable.
Data and Materials Availability
AI Declaration
Notes
Acknowledgement
References
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Cite this article:
Schutte, F. & Swart, E. (2024). From ivory tower to fishbowl: Towards restoring academic freedom and institutional autonomy in public higher education in South Africa. International Journal of Academe and Industry Research, 5(4), 124-147. https://doi.org/10.53378/ijair.353122
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