UV Jaaroorsig - University of the Free State

12
Jaaroorsig • 2007
The draft Charter then deals with constitutive principles
relating to both academic and social dimensions of the
future UFS. Like a constitution of a state, but adapted to the
university environment, it seeks to specify founda tional,
constitutive principles and parameters of the future, transformed
university. These are intended to give a clear sense
of direction to decisions and practices at the University and
to provide desired checks and balances. They are meant to
guide decision-making and behaviour and to relieve much
of the tensions and anxieties of the transformation process
in order to speedily arrive at the desired future transformed
university and achieve our ideals.
A first category of constitutive principles relates to
main taining the intrinsic nature of the University as a place
of science and scholarship in the context of engagement
with the situation and problems of South Africa and Africa.
A second group of principles relate to maintaining and
strengthening academic culture, quality and excellence.
A very important group of principles relates to diversity,
institutional culture and social context within the institution.
The core constitutive principle is to create a sense of belonging
for all members of the university – black and white,
male and female, of whatever language, cultural or economic
background, sexual or religious orientation, as well
as people with disabilities. Constitutive principles that support
this goal include the following:
• Equity, justice and fairness in dealing with diversity.
• Non-dominance amongst diversity, i.e. preventing dominating
behaviour of any individual or group over others,
irrespective of numbers.
The Charter underscores the importance of a redress
phase, given the socio-political history of the country
and the UFS and the significant backlogs that still exist,
and commits the University to urgently complete this
phase.
But it also starts to conceptualise the end of the
redress phase. The Charter suggests that the end of the
redress phase may be in sight when an ap pro ximate
racial and gender balance in the composition of staff
and students is attained. (This idea was echoed when
the concept of sufficient diversity was used in de termining
the quantified targets of the employ ment equity
plan; see below.) Reaching such a point would create
condi tions where most of the conflict and anxieties of
• Non-marginalisation, respect for minorities and ap preciation
for diversity in personalities, individual pre ferences,
human skills and workplace skills.
• Sufficient diversity in the composition of academic and
support staff and students to constitute the neces sary
institutional space for nurturing non-racialism, nonsexism,
multi culturalism, multilingualism and nondominance.
• Sufficient diversity of symbols and artifacts to reflect the
diversity of histories and cultures unambiguously and in
a balanced, respectful manner.
• Substantive and sufficient multilingualism (in terms of
the main and other languages) in academic and support
activities.
• Substantive multiculturalism and embracement of the
diversity of cultures.
• Balance between competing interests and conflicting
objectives by explicitly and innovatively pursuing the
difficult trade-offs that may be necessary.
This Charter states that we unambiguously commit ourselves
to embrace and celebrate the rich diversity of South
African peoples within the central region, a diversity that
manifests itself in intellectual and philosophical orientation,
language, culture, religion, social and economic status, sexual
orientation and nationality, among others. We stand for
maintaining “sufficient and substantive diversity” because
it makes us a better university, a more equitable university,
a more innovative university, and an engaged university.
Further groups of principles relate to the work en vi ronment,
student life, and governance and management. A
Defining the redress and post-redress phases
the current transition are resolved, and where approximate
balance and trade-offs between objectives, forces,
interests and interest groups are attained, and where a
sense of belonging exists for all members of the
university.
This would then provide the incubating environment
for moving, in the longer run, into the post-redress era,
moving further towards full non-racialism, non-sexism,
non-discrimination and a normalised university com munity
– a state of affairs where old paradigms, divisions,
pains, conflicts and tensions will be transcended, and
where race and gender have ceased to be decisive factors
in determining policies, behaviour, attitudes and thinking
of individuals or groups at the University.