A Critical Reflection of Higher Education in the Era of #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall: A South African Perspective
Corresponding Author(s) : Mogomme A. Masoga
Revue de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique,
Vol. 23 No 1 (2025): Revue de l’enseignement supérieur en Afrique : Numéro spécial sur Décoloniser la production des savoirs dans les sciences humaines, les sciences sociales et les arts
Résumé
Cette étude examine de manière critique la transformation de l’enseignement supérieur sud-africain à la suite des mouvements #RhodesMustFall et #FeesMustFall (2015–2017), qui ont contesté des cultures institutionnelles racialisées, des épistémologies eurocentriques et une gouvernance néolibérale. Ancrée dans la théorie décoloniale et la pédagogie critique – s’appuyant sur les travaux de Frantz Fanon, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Paulo Freire et des chercheurs des systèmes de savoirs pluriversels – l’étude situe l’activisme « falliste » dans des critiques plus larges de la corporatisation, du managérialisme et des contraintes statutaires imposées par le Département de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Formation (DHET), le Conseil de l’Enseignement Supérieur (CHE) et l’Autorité sud-africaine des qualifications (SAQA). En mobilisant une analyse documentaire qualitative et une enquête narrative, l’étude s’appuie sur des textes de protestation primaires, des manifestes étudiants, des rapports médiatiques, des documents de politiques publiques et la littérature académique. Les résultats mettent en lumière les revendications des mouvements en faveur de la décolonisation des programmes, de la gratuité de l’enseignement, de la justice épistémique et de l’inclusivité institutionnelle, tout en révélant des défis post-mouvement tels que l’intensification du contrôle managérial, les cultures axées sur l’audit et la marginalisation de l’agencéité étudiante. L’étude soutient que, bien que des avancées symboliques et matérielles aient été réalisées, une transformation durable reste fragile, soulignant ainsi la nécessité de réformes structurelles, épistémiques et éthiques au-delà des mobilisations ponctuelles.
Mots-clés
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- "Appadurai, A.,1996, Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalisation.
- Minneapolis. MN: University of Minnesota Press
- Badat, S., 2022, Decolonisation and Transformation in South African Higher Education: Dilemmas and Possibilities. HSRC Press.
- Booysen, S., (ed.), 2016, #FeesMustFall: Student Revolt, Decolonisation and Governance in South Africa, Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
- Bosch, T., 2017, ‘#FeesMustFall: The politics of protest and student power’, Critical Education, 8(1): 35–52.
- Bosch, T., 2017, ‘Twitter activism and youth in South Africa: The case of #RhodesMustFall’, Information, Communication & Society, 20(2): 187–203.
- Bowen, G.A., 2009, ‘Document analysis as a qualitative research method’, Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
- Cherrington, A.M., Botha, M., and Keet, A., 2018, ‘Editorial: ‘Decolonising’ Education Transformation’, South African Journal of Education, 38(4): 1–4. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n4editorial
- Chigudu, S., 2020, ‘#RhodesMustFall in Oxford: A critical testimony; #RhodesMustFall at Oxford: untémoignage critique’, Critical African Studies, 12(3): 302–12.
- Denzin, N.K., and Lincoln, Y.S., (eds), 1994, Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
- Freire, P., 1970, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New York: Continuum.
- Habib, A., 2019, Rebels and rage: Reflecting on #FeesMustFall, Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers.
- Heleta, S., 2016, ‘Decolonisation of higher education: Dismantling Epistemic violence and Eurocentrism in South Africa’, Transformation in Higher Education, 1(1): 1–12.
- Jansen, J., 2017, As by Fire: The End of the South African University, Cape Town: Tafelberg.
- Langa, M., (ed.), 2017, #Hashtag: An Analysis of the #FeesMustFall Movement at South African Universities, Johannesburg: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR).
- Le Grange, L., 2016, ‘Decolonising the university curriculum’, South African Journal of Higher Education, 30(2): 1–19.
- Le Grange, L., 2019, ‘Decolonising the university curriculum: Leading article’, South African Journal of Higher Education, 33(4): 1–12.
- Luckett, K., and Shay, S., 2021, ‘Reimagining curriculum for a socially just pedagogy: A South African perspective’, Higher Education Research & Development, 40(3): 1–14.
- Mignolo, W., 2011, The Darker Side of Western Modernity: Global Futures, Decolonial Options, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
- Mbembe, A., 2016, ‘Decolonising the university: New directions’, Arts and
- Humanities in Higher Education, 15(1): 29–44."
- "Morreira, S., Luckett, K., Kumalo, S.H., and Ramgotra, N., 2023, Decolonising Curricula and Pedagogy in Higher Education: Bringing Decolonial Theory into Contact with Teaching Practice, London: Routledge.
- Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S., 2013, Coloniality of Power in Postcolonial Africa: Myths of Decolonisation, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Nyamnjoh, F.B., 2016, ‘Black pain matters’, in #RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa, Bamenda, Cameroon: Langaa RPCIG, pp. 59–112. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvmd84n8.16
- Omodan, B.I., and Diko, N., 2021, A conceptualisation of Ubuntugogy as a decolonial pedagogy in Africa’, Journal of Culture and Valuesin Education, 4(2): 95–104 https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.2021.8
- Pillay, S., 2017, ‘#FeesMustFall and the new generation of student activists in South Africa’, Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, 94: 1–18.
- Pillay, S., 2021, ‘Pedagogies of resistance: The #FeesMustFall movement and the politics of knowledge’, South African Journal of Higher Education, 35(1): 78–91. Ramose, M.B., 2003, ‘The philosophy of ubuntu and ubuntu as a philosophy’, in
- P.H. Coetzee and P.J. Roux (eds), Philosophy from Africa: A Text with Readings,
- 2nd edition, Cape Town: Oxford University Press, pp. 230–37.
- Scott, J., 1990, A Matter of Record: Documentary Sources in Social Research, Cambridge: Polity Press.
- Tuck, E., and Yang, K.W., 2012, ‘Decolonisation is not a metaphor’, Decolonisation: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1): 1–40.
- Wa Thiong’o, N., 1986, Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature, Nairobi: Heinemann/EAEP.
- Zinn, H., 2015, A People’s History of the United States, New York: HarperCollins."
Les références
"Appadurai, A.,1996, Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalisation.
Minneapolis. MN: University of Minnesota Press
Badat, S., 2022, Decolonisation and Transformation in South African Higher Education: Dilemmas and Possibilities. HSRC Press.
Booysen, S., (ed.), 2016, #FeesMustFall: Student Revolt, Decolonisation and Governance in South Africa, Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Bosch, T., 2017, ‘#FeesMustFall: The politics of protest and student power’, Critical Education, 8(1): 35–52.
Bosch, T., 2017, ‘Twitter activism and youth in South Africa: The case of #RhodesMustFall’, Information, Communication & Society, 20(2): 187–203.
Bowen, G.A., 2009, ‘Document analysis as a qualitative research method’, Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. https://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027
Cherrington, A.M., Botha, M., and Keet, A., 2018, ‘Editorial: ‘Decolonising’ Education Transformation’, South African Journal of Education, 38(4): 1–4. https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v38n4editorial
Chigudu, S., 2020, ‘#RhodesMustFall in Oxford: A critical testimony; #RhodesMustFall at Oxford: untémoignage critique’, Critical African Studies, 12(3): 302–12.
Denzin, N.K., and Lincoln, Y.S., (eds), 1994, Handbook of Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Freire, P., 1970, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, New York: Continuum.
Habib, A., 2019, Rebels and rage: Reflecting on #FeesMustFall, Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Heleta, S., 2016, ‘Decolonisation of higher education: Dismantling Epistemic violence and Eurocentrism in South Africa’, Transformation in Higher Education, 1(1): 1–12.
Jansen, J., 2017, As by Fire: The End of the South African University, Cape Town: Tafelberg.
Langa, M., (ed.), 2017, #Hashtag: An Analysis of the #FeesMustFall Movement at South African Universities, Johannesburg: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR).
Le Grange, L., 2016, ‘Decolonising the university curriculum’, South African Journal of Higher Education, 30(2): 1–19.
Le Grange, L., 2019, ‘Decolonising the university curriculum: Leading article’, South African Journal of Higher Education, 33(4): 1–12.
Luckett, K., and Shay, S., 2021, ‘Reimagining curriculum for a socially just pedagogy: A South African perspective’, Higher Education Research & Development, 40(3): 1–14.
Mignolo, W., 2011, The Darker Side of Western Modernity: Global Futures, Decolonial Options, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Mbembe, A., 2016, ‘Decolonising the university: New directions’, Arts and
Humanities in Higher Education, 15(1): 29–44."
"Morreira, S., Luckett, K., Kumalo, S.H., and Ramgotra, N., 2023, Decolonising Curricula and Pedagogy in Higher Education: Bringing Decolonial Theory into Contact with Teaching Practice, London: Routledge.
Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S., 2013, Coloniality of Power in Postcolonial Africa: Myths of Decolonisation, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Nyamnjoh, F.B., 2016, ‘Black pain matters’, in #RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa, Bamenda, Cameroon: Langaa RPCIG, pp. 59–112. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvmd84n8.16
Omodan, B.I., and Diko, N., 2021, A conceptualisation of Ubuntugogy as a decolonial pedagogy in Africa’, Journal of Culture and Valuesin Education, 4(2): 95–104 https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.2021.8
Pillay, S., 2017, ‘#FeesMustFall and the new generation of student activists in South Africa’, Transformation: Critical Perspectives on Southern Africa, 94: 1–18.
Pillay, S., 2021, ‘Pedagogies of resistance: The #FeesMustFall movement and the politics of knowledge’, South African Journal of Higher Education, 35(1): 78–91. Ramose, M.B., 2003, ‘The philosophy of ubuntu and ubuntu as a philosophy’, in
P.H. Coetzee and P.J. Roux (eds), Philosophy from Africa: A Text with Readings,
2nd edition, Cape Town: Oxford University Press, pp. 230–37.
Scott, J., 1990, A Matter of Record: Documentary Sources in Social Research, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Tuck, E., and Yang, K.W., 2012, ‘Decolonisation is not a metaphor’, Decolonisation: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1): 1–40.
Wa Thiong’o, N., 1986, Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature, Nairobi: Heinemann/EAEP.
Zinn, H., 2015, A People’s History of the United States, New York: HarperCollins."