Notes from Open Engagement at GSB (Friday, 4 October 2016)
The meeting began with introductions from a few team members of the collective of GSB stakeholders going by the moniker âGSBvoicesâ.This was followed by laying down some principles of engagement to underpin the discussion:
A non-judgmental stance on issues and each other during the session;
To put forward any agreements, proposals, ideas, etc. as a collective;
To aim for action-oriented outcomes from the session;
To acknowledge every voice or issue raised.
Below is a synthesis of key issues emerging from the engagement:
Different narratives and experiences of what is happening
A âsafeâ place for learning.
Issues of race: security personnel on (upper/main) campus seem to be racially discriminating against certain students.
What happened at UCT in the 1980âs? (this was mentioned by one of the attendees)
Managing opposing positions: Those who want to study can facilitate and manage the reconciliation process with those who donât (student-student engagement);
The university can allow all students to attend lectures and write exams, as a demonstration of its goodwill to the reconciliation process;
Potential solutions: institutionally facilitated job placement by seeking out firms to employ students, with students empowered to then be able to pay fees. From this illustration, it seemed that first-year fees were totally waived, while second and third-year fees were accrued to a later date (possibly post-graduation), when the then-employed student was able to pay the outstanding fee balance.
There seem to be extreme positions on each side (i.e. fees must be free or every little, or fees must be paid). Can we not find a blend, an integrated set of ideas that are based on a common-ground understanding that encompasses forward?
An experience shared where a student who is also a parent of a first-year student at the University of Johannesburg. He explained the feeling that many students may have: what are the âreturnsâ to him when his son is out of school, after he has spent a lot of money to get his child into school, even while he sympathises and empathises with the problem? He went on to add that corruption is a serious challenge that may be impacting on the pool of funds available for education.
There is a significant informational bias â most information seems to be coming out from third party sources, and it is predominantly negative, yet there is certainly a lot of positive events. This fear is that such skewed information could be creating a perception, even among ourselves, and could have the effect of diverting attention from the issues at hand.
The role of GSB in connecting to the current events
There is a polarisation effect and the GSB seems to have to be indifferent, while instead we can play a useful role in providing mentorship or guidance to students.
Is it appropriate for us (the GSB?) to be on the fence when there are burning buses are injured students?.
The branding of the GSB does not reflect the reality of the institution. The values with which the GSB markets itself do not seem to be embodied in this space, and there is a feeling of disengagement at that.
Communication without our structure within GSB has been poor, communication both to students and staff. We receive communication from the UCT leadership and later receive other communication from the GSB/ line managers and it seems thereâs a sense in which the GSB is distancing itself from UCT. We want to be part of UCT in the good times but distance ourselves during the bad ones; we claim we are UCT but at the moment it doesnât feel like we are. The acting GSB Director spoke on the issue of communication, acknowledging the challenge and remarking that it was inherently more challenging to report on the positives as opposed as it was to report on the negatives arising out of the negotiation process.
The broader national struggle (economic inequality)
A concern or reflection on the root causes? Is there a separation between the issues on a national level and those on a university level?
This is not about education â itâs about the whole economy and is a multi-faceted complex problem.
It makes sense that this is happening: the ârevolutionary burdenâ must be articulated and channelled.
On a broader level, we must think about the systemic effects of any solutions put forward, as they may have worse system outcomes.
The meeting was reminded that the problem is not only about fees -this is a national issue- and that the collective should aspire to come out with actionable outcomes.
A unique role for GSB in advancing the key issues or concerns
GSB advised to adopt a non-partisan position if we do not really understand the prevailing issues.
What is the role of corporate South Africa? Todayâs students will eventually become leaders in business and society in the future, and should it not be good that some sort of coaching or mentorship be extended to students?
GSB could aim to offer students the tools they/ we need to implement the solutions to the various problems (premised on the assumption that we have workable solutions).
Acknowledging the lack of money at the levels of higher education is a first level. The GSB can play a big role in investigating the funding challenges and playing a practical role in seeking solutions.
We should collaborate with other postgrad/ business school groupings from the other universities in the Western Cape (the nation as a whole?) and collectively come out to support the re-prioritisation of resources (presumably more towards higher education).
The discussion focussed at length on finance but not paid much attention to the knowledge economy, and the meeting was challenged to think practically in empowering those around us.
The session came to a close with an agreement that further engagement was required, probably including the creation of a mailing list or Facebook group where engagement could continue.
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