Khanya College’s curriculum was quite different from the one taught at other universities of the time. Its students studied oral African literature and history alongside Western literature.
Students in South Africa are tired of Western, Eurocentric university curricula.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
More than two decades after apartheid ended, South African universities still tend to offer a view of the country and continent that is rooted in colonial and apartheid thinking.
A curriculum can’t be decolonised by simply removing content. This denies students the chance to participate in local policy debates and the global job market. A more nuanced approach is needed.
South Africa was hit by an unprecedented wave of student protests against fee hikes, racism and for the decolonisation of curriculum.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
Many works published on decolonisation originate from Ngugi wa Thiongo’s idea of decolonising the African mind. Imperialism, he writes, has left its mark on the minds of the previously colonised.
Management graduates from Africa are struggling to apply their classroom lessons to the working world.
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Africa needs management graduates – but they must be taught with the continent’s specific challenges and requirements in mind.
Detractors argue that decolonising the curriculum to include writers like Steve Biko (who was much admired by former president Nelson Mandela) will lower standards.
Mike Hutchings/Reuters