Thesis (Phd. (Education Management )) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2014 / The dawn of democracy in South Africa resulted in an emphasis on the involvement and
participation of stakeholders in decision-making processes. At public higher education
institutions, involvement and participation were guaranteed by the enactment of the Higher
Education Act 101 of 1997. This Act provides that co-operative governance should be practiced
in the governance of public higher education institutions. Students are stakeholders in higher
education institutions. This means that according to the Act, students ought to be represented in
the governance of public higher education institutions. The representation of students in
university governance became a new phenomenon in the democratic South Africa.
This thesis explored the involvement and participation of student representative councils in the
co-operative governance of South African higher education institutions. It evaluated the role
and effect of SRCs in the co-operative governance of public higher education institutions in
South Africa. Following the merging of these institutions, universities have multi campuses, all
of which need to be represented in the universities Managements through SRCs.
This study employed the QUAN-Qual (explanatory) mixed methods design which included the
use of a questionnaire and in-depth, open-ended, semi-structured interviews. The sample for
the study was made up of hundred and fifty-three respondents and nine interviewees from three
types of South African higher education institutions.
The quantitative part of this study investigated the nexus between the involvement and
participation of SRCs in co-operative governance at public higher education institutions. The
correlation between SRCs’ perception of participation and co-operative governance was also
examined. The study also explored the SRCs’ perception of the implementation of co-operative
governance at different universities types. The qualitative part of the study investigated
perception of the nature of co-operative governance the SRCs at different universities. It also
examined perceptions regarding whether participatory democracy was practiced at universities,
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challenges experienced in the governance of universities and what the SRCs thought should be
done to address those challenges.
The study found that SRC members feel that they are both involved and also participate in the
governance of public higher education institutions in South Africa. This was further enhanced
by research hypotheses that revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship between
the SRCs’ perception of their involvement and participation in university governance and their
perception of the implementation of co-operative governance in the South African higher
education institutions.
Although SRC members feel that they are involved and that they participate in co-operative
governance, interviews have revealed that they experience the following problems:
SRC members have annual budget deficits at their universities and as a result, they fail
to fulfill their mandates by the student body.
SRCs find it difficult to deal with the challenges pertaining to multi-campus set-ups in
their institutions.
The existence of student political structures contributes to ideological differences
amongst SRC members. This affects effective student governance at universities.
The capacity building of SRC members at higher education institutions is not adequately
addressed by managements of these institutions.
The researcher recommends that it is important that HEIs adhere to the HE Act 101 of 1997, as
amended. Adherence to the Act will ensure that there is compliance with the law and will
minimise the chances for HEIs to be placed under administration. The managements of
universities and SRCs need to co-operate in order to ensure that co-operative governance in
HEIs is effectively implemented. Workshops and meetings are held at universities between
SRCs and managements regarding issues of co-operative governance. SRCs need to involve
themselves in national and international student activities in order for them to gain knowledge
and skills about student governance. The researcher designed a multi-campus student
governance model that will effectively deal with the challenges mentioned above.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cut/oai:ir.cut.ac.za:11462/680 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Moreku, Clement |
| Contributors | D.K. Selaledi, Welkom: Central University of Technology, Free State :Education Management |
| Publisher | Welkom: Central University of Technology, Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 5 028 107 bytes, 1 file, Application/PDF |
| Rights | Central University of Technology, Free State |
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