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The paper chase

7th October 2016

By: Riaan de Lange

  

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If you were a child in the mid-1970s, then you can truly relate to this article. Back then, children would spend an evening, preferably a few evenings, in front of a television set, gazing at the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC’s) text panel transmission, which lasted for all of two hours. The first text transmission started on May 5, 1975, in Johannesburg, followed by Cape Town and Durban in July. Friends and even long-lost family would converge on the living rooms of the fortunate few to share in the two hours of magic. Then, on January 5, 1976, South Africans watched the SABC’s first television broadcast.

In those days, several international television series were dubbed. You were, however, still able to listen to the original soundtrack, but only if you employed ‘technology’ – this entailed placing a tuned radio on top of the television set. Soon, television sets boasted a simulcast facility. Yes, simply a television set with a built-in radio tuner.

One of the first television series that had a lasting impression on me – one that scared the living daylights out of me – was Beste Professor (directly translated as Dear Professor). It aired from 1978 to 1979 and was the dubbed American series, The Paper Chase. (I simply cannot explain how The Paper Chase translated as Dear Professor.) In any event, the series was set at the Harvard Law School, providing an account of the trials and tribulations of first-year law student James T Hart being lectured by Professor Charles W Kingsfield Jr, who was a truly frightening professor. Hart does, of course, complicate both their lives and interactions by embarking on a relationship with the professor’s daughter. I recall a quote from Kingsfield that captures the essence of university education: “Through my questions, you will learn to teach yourselves.”

This was my first exposure to what, at the time, I considered to be a true reflection of what goes on at university, and I was truly scared and intimidated. With each year, as my entry into university drew ever closer, my nervous tension increased. But this was, of course, not a true reflection of university education.

The thing with a university is that it is an institution of higher learning. It is more than a step up from school – for some, a step too high – and, as such, it should be a bit intimidating and daunting for students. For many, it is, and should be, a rude awaking to the real world. But it is also a time of personal growth, where, among others, strong life-long friendships and relationships are forged. I, like many, fondly remember my university years. The professors and lecturers were held in high esteem. When they entered a lecture hall, there would be a deathly silence. They were there to lecture you, and you were there to be lectured. This does not mean that there was no interaction between the professors and lecturers and their students. However, the professors and lecturers were definitely not there to entertain you, though inadvertently, maybe even advertently, some did. Ultimately, it was about education, not the edutainment that so many students, in my experience as a lecturer, nowadays demand. Yes, demand.

Allow me to digress for a moment. As an economics lecturer, when introducing the concepts of demand and supply, I am fascinated at the responses that I receive when I ask students whether protestors carrying placards ‘demanding’ certain economic goods or services qualify as demand in the economic sense. Some believe it does qualify, but, of course, it does not. If those that demand a specific good or a service are not willing to pay for it, well, then that is not a demand, but, at best, an expression of desire. You make what you will of the demand for free education. Also, with ‘free’, there is an associated economic cost – someone has to pay for it. Yes, even subsidising means someone has to pay for it.

Some ten years ago, my life took an unexpected turn; I departed the private sector for academia – 20 years after my own initial university studies. As a first-time lecturer, I experienced a severe culture shock – the weight of power had shifted squarely to the students. The common courtesy had generally gone, not to mention respect.

Do not get me wrong; I am not suggesting that students should cower when a lecturer enters a lecture hall, but at least common courtesies should be afforded the latter. It should be remembered that any form of education is a labour of love. What seems to be missed is that academia – unless you are in the management of universities – is anything but a financially rewarding pursuit. The remuneration is poor, and do not even think of supplementing it by consulting, which is really like the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. People tell you that opportunities to consult are there, but they themselves have never done it.

The obvious question is: Why, then, is it so expensive to study at university? There are other questions, such as: What makes it so expensive? Why do people aspire to study at university when it is so expensive? Is there a perception that the investment in university education would provide a long-term financial reward? Is this true for South Africa? Are South Africa’s most affluent individuals in that position of financial surplus as a result of their academic qualification? Or could it be that an academic qualification limits the chances of identifying and securing employment? The intention of this article is not to answer any of these question, but to raise them.

So, to borrow from the title of the television series, has university education become a mere paper chase? If you use a search engine to search for the meaning of ‘paper chase’, it returns the following: “the effort to earn a diploma or college degree, especially in law, or a professional certificate or licence”, and “the writing of assignments and reports, collecting of supporting documents, filling out of forms, and other paperwork necessary to obtain a college degree or a professional certificate”.

Has being a university student in South Africa become nothing more than chasing the paper – the paper on which the degree is printed? Is it no longer about the journey to acquire this qualification while developing and honing your skills? To add to this, in South Africa’s instance, students also contest the contents of the courses, and even the course themselves. This is more than frightening.

In my experience, studying at university has become no more than a paper chase. I am no longer astounded when I ask students at the beginning of a semester if they have any questions about the course and, without exception, I am asked whether the students would be able to pass the course, and what guarantee I could give them that they would. There is no interest at all in the knowledge they would attain through taking the course.

I wrote this article on September 26, when South African universities were once again subjected to student destruction. It was déjà vu all over again. On June 10, I wrote: “Where there’s smoke, there’s a university.”

It is interesting that the student mayhem took place against the backdrop of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa receiving an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Venda, in Limpopo, only days earlier. As I concluded writing this article, the University of Cape Town announced the cancellation of its graduation ceremonies in 2016. Worst of all, the University of the Witwatersrand confirmed that a campus worker had died as a result of protest action at the university.
With all the smoke generated by student destruction, and even a death, what are the protesting students’ expectation? Free education? At what cost, and for whom?

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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