Issue

Vol. 23 No. 1 (2025): Journal of Higher Education in Africa: Special Issue on Decolonising Knowledge Production in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts

Towards the Decolonised University in Africa

A Perspective from the Philosophy of Liberation
https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v23i1.6494
William Jethro Mpofu

Corresponding Author(s) : William Jethro Mpofu

William.mpofu@wits.ac.za

Journal of Higher Education in Africa, Vol. 23 No. 1 (2025): Journal of Higher Education in Africa: Special Issue on Decolonising Knowledge Production in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts

Abstract

 


This article deploys the philosophy of liberation perspective as a lens to flesh out an image of the decolonised university in Africa. The observation is that the Euro-American model of the university is currently hegemonic in Africa, and this Westernised, colonial system of higher education needs to be decolonised. This article begins by explaining the use of the philosophy of liberation perspective as a lens, then delves into the current Euro-American model of the university, which is a Westernised university in Africa rather than an African university. Finally, the paper presents a vision of the decolonised university in Africa, which would be multilingual, boast of human and epistemic diversity, and include inclusive architecture and infrastructures as part of its landscapes and spaces. In this decolonised university in Africa, knowledge and knowledge production would be treated as public goods and services rather than commodities in the marketplace. This university would be rooted in Africa while also being globally relevant and present. It would marry local relevance with international excellence. This decolonised university in Africa would be a planetary university of the Global South, where the planet and everything on it – all of nature and life – are valued. This idea might sound idealistic and utopian precisely because liberation itself, and the futures it seeks to imagine and enact, belong to utopia.

Keywords

Decolonised university in Africa philosophy of liberation westernised university in Africa Global South planetary university
Mpofu, W. J. (2026). Towards the Decolonised University in Africa: A Perspective from the Philosophy of Liberation. Journal of Higher Education in Africa, 23(1), 107–124. https://doi.org/10.57054/jhea.v23i1.6494
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Author Biography

William Jethro Mpofu

Researcher, Wits Centre for Diversity Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Email: William.mpofu@wits.ac.za

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