Transformation of Historically Black Universities in South Africa to Provide Access to Information

Introduction

This chapter discusses the transformation of historically black universities (HBUs) from the apartheid system to a democratic system in South Africa. HBUs were expected to transform to provide access to information, curriculum development and quality of education. Inequities caused by the apartheid system necessitated the establishment of the National Commission on Higher Education established in 1996 to develop a framework to transform higher education. The apartheid is a system of discrimination based on race, colour was introduced by the National Party government in 1948. All sector of the economy includes education was affected by the apartheid system.

During the apartheid period, students, particularly blacks were denied access to courses and programmes offered by the Historical White Medium University (HEMU) and Historically Afrikaans universities (HAMU). The ineffective information management system from HEMU makes it difficult to retrieve courses and programmes offered by various South African universities. Dismantling the apartheid system led to the negotiations of a new Constitution in the Republic of South Africa in 1996. The National Commission on Higher Education (1996) A framework for Transformation was developed to pave a way for the transformation of higher education. The transformation framework contributed to the enactment of the Higher Education Act of 1997 and the Promotion of Access to Information Act of 2002 to enhance access to higher education.

Democratic South Africa recognized that access to higher education by previously black communities demonstrate that South Africa has expanded and opened up Higher Education. The author is of the view that South African universities are in a reform process to eliminate discriminatory practices and respond to the community needs. However, education transformation has not eradicated social class differences. Higher Education transformation policy led to changes in higher education in South Africa. Furthermore, access to information is the fundamental human right included in the bill of Human Rights of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

An information management system is based on advanced Information Communication Technology infrastructure. The review of the literature shows that universities have limited information communication technology infrastructure to share information (Netshakhuma, 2019). The infrastructure determines the readiness status of universities to share information. Implementation of information communication technology requires computer hardware and software, campus networking equipment and a robust mobile telecommunications network. A university may, therefore, invest in infrastructure to establish an information management system as an enabler to promote access to education. A mobile telecommunications network that has broader coverage, perform reliably, is easy to connect to, offers high-speed internet access and has broader service offering.

It appears that there is a lack of a database system related to courses and programmes offered by HBUs during the apartheid period. This statement is alluded to by Bhandari (2017) who said that equitable access to a quality higher education is a global challenge. Hence provision of accurate, relevant, and complete data or information about courses and programmes offered by HBUs was necessary. Access to data or information is fundamental to this study because universities need information management systems to capture, manage and distribute accurate and complete information. For these reasons, it is necessary to assess the information management system of HBUs. For a university to function effectively, it is, therefore, necessary to develop a governance framework. A framework forms the basis to develop strategies and policies. A framework assists the university to establish, monitoring information and records management system and processes.