March 25, 2003
By Bongani Majola
THE City is looking to forge strategic partnerships with five Higher Education Institutions (HIEs) in the city, as part of an effort to make Johannesburg a learning city capable of developing the full potential of its citizens.
This was revealed at the first ever summit of local government and higher education held in Sandton's Hilton Hotel this week. Institutions that took part in the summit included Technikon Witwatersrand, Technikon South Africa, Vista University, Rand Afrikaans University and the University of the Witwatersrand.
"We want you to take advantage of being located in Johannesburg and fashion yourselves as the city's places of higher learning," City Manager Pascal Moloi told those gathered at the summit.
In a keynote address, Education Minister Kader Asmal further stressed the relationship between HEIs and local government, "in particular the City of Johannesburg, as the partnership would be an extremely important one for the economic and social development of South Africa".
"It is no secret," Asmal said, "that the city is synonymous with the economic, financial and manufacturing capabilities of the country. Johannesburg's economy alone is larger than that of some countries in the Southern African region."
Councillor Prema Naidoo, speaking on behalf of the City, said the key challenge for HEIs is to bridge the increasing local skills gap.
The minister's advisory body, the Council on Higher Education (CHE), which jointly organised the summit with the City, would facilitate the process of forming partnerships, as it was crucial that "such relations are clearly defined," said CHE's Professor Saleem Badat.
After inputs from the ministry, Badat and Wits Technikon's Professor Thomas Aus der Heyde, who spoke on behalf of the five institutions, a plenary session was held to tease out possible areas of concern and cooperation.
Chaired by Wits University deputy vice-chancellor Professor Thandwa Mthembu, the plenary session identified the purpose, aim and nature of the partnership, the functional objectives or possible projects and mechanisms to institutionalise the relations as areas that needed further discussion.
"We do not want to become agencies of the City of Johannesburg at the detriment of our core functions as HEIs, that is, knowledge generation and dissemination," warned Der Heyde.
Mthembu said there was also real concern, for instance, that "aligning ourselves with the City of Johannesburg 2030 might constrain our capacity, indeed our duty, to critique that vision from outside as academic institutions".
"What guarantee can be made?" inquired another academic, "that if we reorient our academic business, we would become the City of Johannesburg's preferred suppliers?" There was a need to strike a balance between the public role of higher education with the need to generate independent income, she said.
The summit resolved to form a steering committee, facilitated by CHE and composed of representatives from the institutions as well as the City of Johannesburg, whose first meeting will result in a memorandum of understanding between all parties.
The first meeting of the steering committee - the date is yet to be announced - would also consider "key issues around the aims and objectives of the partnership, existing and future programmes and projects, as well as the modalities, mechanisms and structures to consolidate relations over time".
An invitation was also extended to business and private institutions to participate in the steering committee.
CHE's consultant, Enver Motala, said there was general agreement that the steering committee should meet sooner than later, "as soon as principals of the five institutions have been brought on board the process".
