Annual Postgraduate Research Indaba 2020 – Keynote Address
Theme: Accelerating online research support of postgraduate studies in the wake of Sustainable Development Goals
Program director, Professor Lindiwe Zungu,
Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mandlenkosi Makhanya,
President of the National SRC, comrade Wadzanai Mazhetese, and your leadership collective,
Members of the organising committee of this year’s Postgraduate Indaba,
Fellow students, comrades and friends, members of Unisa family,
Lotjhani,
I should wish to begin this address by thanking the National SRC, particularly comrade Lucas Mamabolo, for approaching me to present this year’s key-note address. I do not take this invitation lightly because I understand what it means to be given audience in this fashion. I am thus extremely thankful.
The first thing that I noticed when the draft program was sent to me is that, with the notable exception of Mr Ayanda Noma, I am the only person on the list of speakers that does not have either the “Prof” or “Dr” title. Under normal circumstances, this should have me feeling somewhat overawed and intimidated, but in this instance it has me accepting that perhaps this is crucial to set the tone for today’s address.
In so saying, I am humbled as a postgraduate student that I am given an opportunity to address you, because it is validation of the calls that some of us having been making for a while now – that in the quest to decolonise higher education, and transform the university we should engage in a project that de-centers longstanding hegemonic orders, these include the colonial logic that has students as perpetual juniors and academics their automatic seniors in the University setting.
Among other things, I think that this is mostly the best time to be addressing you because the release of my Masters of Law exam results is still fresh, and thus the postgraduate experience is still fresh too. This is an experience that I would want to briefly talk about as I get into discussing this year’s theme of “Accelerating online research support of postgraduate studies in the wake of Sustainable Development Goals”.
I enrolled for this LLM degree in the second semester of 2017, wherein I immediately registered for the research proposal module. I passed the research proposal module in February 2018 thereafter began with the dissertation, which I ultimately submitted in February 2020. Today I stand (well I am actually sitting, thanks to Covid lockdown) before you a Master of Law.
Well, at this point I expect you to be applauding because what I told you sounds like a success story. But, if you are not applauding that is also fine because I am about to briefly paint a much bleaker picture behind the proverbial Masters success. I do this with the intention to bring to the consciousness of the room that there are hurdles to cross first before we accelerate online support. Unfortunately, most of these hurdles have nothing to do with actual research work or the tasks expected from a postgraduate student, but are a product of the University’s shoddy admin systems. I repeat, and emphasize, “Shoddy admin systems”! Even more unfortunate, these hurdles are not of the fault or cause of the student but solely of the university.
More than a year ago, the university migrated from physical submissions to online submissions of M&D dissertations. By January of this year, I was ready to submit my dissertation, and the M&D department (as well as the college of graduate studies) had provided me with the magic link to submit the dissertation but the link simply could not work. I was frustrated, so much that in the end I was not able to submit through the link. I had to mount a huge fight, send various heavily-worded emails, and swear at a few people before an alternative arrangement could be made for me to finally submit the dissertation by way of an email to one of the managers at the M&D department.
The dissertation currently reads that it was submitted in January 2020, but it was actually submitted in February following the impi of Isandlwana. The implication of this administrative blooper is the final academic record now suggests that I finished my studies in 2020 academic, when I actually did so in 2019. I had thought that the war is over, after submission when I was told that I should be able to get feedback from examiners within 6 weeks, little did I know that I would have to wait close to 7 months before the results were released. Even their release did not come without controversy – Again, I had to behave like a lunatic, calling people, sending a thousand emails and throwing in a few threats here and there. All of this culminates in a very terrible experience, weighing negatively on my social and emotional wellbeing.
My story is not unique – my colleague Mutondi Maluleke (not her real name, because of obvious reasons), submitted her LLM dissertation in labour law in March of 2020. She submitted this dissertation almost 4 months after having been dumped by two supervisors owing to one going on AQIP leave, and the latter resigning from the university. As a result, she had to fend for herself, and submit the dissertation without a supervisor. Just last week, I am told that the department responsible for her Master’s degree has lost her LLM file, as a result they do not know who her Non-Examining Chair is, who her examiners are, and whether or not the actual dissertation went out to them. The only response the department could give her, was that she should re-submit. I cannot begin to imagine the trauma and anguish that Mutondi is going through right now.
Mutondi and I are not alone. We have another colleague, Mr Solomon Maake (not his real name) – he submitted his LLM in Public International Law with me in February 2020. After more than 7 months of waiting for his results, he tells me just two days ago that last week that the M&D department (and college of graduate studies) communicated with him, letting him know that it is only now that they are appointing his panel of examiners. The likelihood is that, if he is lucky, he might get his results next year. I cannot imagine the sheer mental abuse that Solomon is going through right now.
Mr Vice-Chancellor, I am relaying these stories to you because I want us to have a deepened conversation about the first part of today’s theme. In the phrase “accelerating online support”, I want us to specifically focus on the word “accelerating”, not its etymological foregrounding, neither its epistemic nor ontological possibilities, but instead its metaphorical realities.
Those of you who know how to drive a car would know that before it can accelerate, there are a few things that should happen. First, you have to get into the car, place the key in the ignition, switch it on, start the engine and wait for it to warm up. Once the engine is warm, you then apply all gears accordingly, so you place gear one, then gear two, right up to the 5th gear – only then can you realistically accelerate.
For those of you who do not know how to drive, I invite you instead think of a bicycle. Imagine that before you can realistically accelerate on a bicycle you need to first take off, be on a constant speed, then increase the speed accordingly.
But program director, let us focus on the car metaphor for now, and specifically on the 5 gears that have to be chronologically engaged before the car can accelerate. Apply this metaphor directly to Unisa.
Because I am a lawyer, allow me to “Put it to you” that the Unisa vehicle, has not only failed to engage gear 1, but the car is off and the engine is cold.
What I am saying that is that we have no business even talking about acceleratingonline support when the vehicle that we are supposed to accelerate is off, let alone on gear 1.
Mr Vice-Chancellor, as regards support for postgraduate students, I argue that Unisa is a 5 –gear vehicle, and these gears are as follows,
Gear 1: Functional, effective, responsive, sensitive and student-centred M&D administration that primarily responds to all student queries via either phones or by emails. The University has to get this right, because at the rate we are going, we are not too far from Home Affairs horrors, or traffic department corruption, where citizens are expected to bribe traffic department officials before they can get proper service. It may sound alarmist and largely dramatic, but that is where Unisa is headed.
Gear 2: Decisive, indiscriminate and consistent consequence management for all those lazy bums that put our university into disrepute by thinking that they are on holiday when they are supposed to be doing their jobs. I am a former trade unionist, so it is does not come easily to me to suggest that the University should take harsh measures against its lazy employees, but it is something that has to happen. Fire the rotten rubbish, and get people that work and appreciate the value of efficient service.
Gear 3: Having a deepened appreciation of the digital migration before toying with things such as 4th IR. Sometimes I laugh mischievously when I hear some members of management talking about the 4th IR as if it is something that the university understands. The reality is that we are nowhere near talking about the 4th because we’ve failed to fully grapple with the 3rd. Where are the gadgets that you promised students? Why are some of your academics using laptops that they received in 2012? How do you expect the university to function online when your online systems are constantly failing.
Gear 4: Stop paying lip service to the Grow Your Own Timber(GYOT) program. Train properly, emphasize on working mentorship programs,careerpath and a promise of jobs for performing and meritorious students. There are a few postgraduate students like me in the GYOT program, who finished their Masters degree in record time, and also published two research outputs in two different academic journals yet I am unemployed. It shows how scandalous and ineffective the GYOT program is, because it grows the timber then when it is grown, it throws it away. Mr Vice-Chancellor, this is something that you need to pay attention to.
Gear 5: Reverse. Because a car without reverse button is useless.
Only when you have applied all these gears that you can begin to imagine accelerating. For now, the car is still off. We need to put the key in the ignition, switch it on, start the engine and apply all the gears accordingly.
I thank you once more for inviting me to deliver this Key-Note address, I bid you well wishes for this Postgraduate Indaba, may it be a success, and I do certainly hope that your discussions will reflect deeply on this stagnant vehicle. Ngithokoza kakhulu, uMabhoko sindeni, uMabhoko usinde mhla kunethuli, mhla kunganathuli kuyaliwa!
Thank you and Good Morning.
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