The decision to establish new universities in Mpumalanga and Northern Cape provinces means that an opportunity has arisen for unique institutions to be created. Being the first since the establishment of a new democratic order in 1994, these new institutions need to address a number of challenges. These challenges are not limited to that of a developing country and its societal schisms - the legacy of a divided society based upon race - but also challenges facing all Higher Education institutions the world over.
Lately the rise of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) via platforms such as Coursera serves as a stark reminder of the changing landscape of education. Higher Education institutions in particular no longer hold sway over knowledge and qualifications. Learning can be open and free - and it actually is. Since the advent of the Internet, "anywhere anytime" has now changed to "everywhere all the time" with the rise of smart phones and a myriad of applications to help ensure that end-users are well-served in terms of all their information and services needs.
But education in South Africa is far from the level at which it could be. Transformation at a national scale in terms of technological advancement remains elusive. Traditional education is still in vogue in most schools across the country. The reality of digital exclusion resultant from a lack of national investment in large massive ICT infrastructure developments cannot be negated. For example, the born frees (the generation that has been born after 1994) that arrived at the newly established Teacher Education Campus at Siyabuswa come from schools that seem to have changed little during the past 18 years. In particular, technologically enhanced education at school level in most of rural South Africa is unlikely, if not impossible given the current mindset and lack of political will. Specifically, limited or no Internet access at schools mean that little in the way of technologically enhanced education entered the first cohort of students' classrooms while they were at school. The question therefore remains: will the Faculties of Education at the new universities in both Mpumalanga and Northern Cape provinces be able to nurture a new generation of teachers to go into service, armed with skills and a new approach to education that will be relevant for an interconnected global society that is completely driven by and reliant upon technology.
It would be interesting to hear from students currently at Siyabuswa's Teacher Education Campus what their own school education was like. Did their schools have computers for example? Did teacher use technology in class and if so, what types? Was Internet connectivity readily available at their schools? These and other questions need to be answered for education in South Africa is in dire need of innovative solutions at a massive, disruptive scale.
