Milestone report provides health check on internationalisation

The first national research study on the internationalisation of higher education in South Africa, released at a conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 22 August, has made several key findings around the understanding of the concept, structural deficiencies in how it is managed by higher education institutions, while also highlighting concern about the escalation in academic xenophobia.

The study, jointly commissioned by the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) and the British Council, in support of the country’s first internationalisation policy drafted in 2019 by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), described South Africa as a beacon of international quality in terms of perceptions and the reality of league tables.

Thus, according to the findings, South Africa’s higher education is in demand from other nations on the continent and abroad.

However, the study revealed major concerns over the slowness in the processing of study visas. Visa applications are rarely processed in time and in some universities, according to the study, students without visas are not permitted in class.

The study also found that resource shortages and funding inadequacies were among the most frequently cited challenges faced by universities around internationalisation.

These were some of the key findings captured in the Research Report: Exploring Internationalisation of Higher Education at Public Universities in South Africa: Intentions, practices, opportunities and constraints launched during the IEASA’s 26th annual conference themed ‘Navigating Internationalisation in Challenging Times’.

A productive partnership

George Barrett, the British Council’s country director for South Africa, in the report, said in response to the Draft Policy Framework for the Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa (2017), the British Council, IEASA and DHET hosted a policy dialogue in 2018 to explore the implications for the International Programme and Provider Mobility (IPPM). This collaboration led to the establishment of the IEASA-British Council partnership in 2021 and the commissioning of the study.

Barrett added that the report maps the internationalisation policies, structures and activities across South Africa’s public universities, highlighting efforts to enhance internationalisation, as well as the opportunities, challenges and diverse perspectives on implementing the DHET Policy Framework.

“The findings will inform the implementation of the national internationalisation policy framework and provide valuable guidelines for universities in the United Kingdom and beyond seeking to collaborate with South African institutions,” she said.

The conference, which began on 20 August and is scheduled to end on 23 August with a keynote address by Dr Naledi Pandor, a former education minister in South Africa and until recently the minister of international relations and cooperation, and a respected former senior government official.

The conference brought together experts, academics and researchers, professional practitioners, educators, students and innovators, organisations and individuals interested in higher education internationalisation to share their thoughts, research findings, lived experiences and good practice examples.

The milestone study was unveiled on Thursday during a panel discussion chaired by Dr Samia Chasi, the manager of strategic initiatives, partnership development and research of IEASA.

The panel comprised the British Council’s Barrett; Professor Felix Maringe, the deputy vice-chancellor of institutional development, research and innovation at the University of Kigali in Rwanda; Dr Phethiwe Matutu, the chief executive officer, Universities South Africa (USAf); Dr Lavern Samuels, IEASA president; and Dr Idah Makukule of the University Education Branch at the DHET.

The research for the project was conducted between 2022 and 2024, examining the 2019 policy framework on internationalisation by South Africa’s DHET, looking at how this policy has been interpreted, understood and implemented by South African universities.

The study also considered the diverse university contexts in which the DHET Policy Framework was applied, identifying areas of convergence and contention primarily influenced by university and national policy frameworks.

The concept of internationalisation

Across the sector, in the 19 universities in which this research was undertaken, the study found that the meaning ascribed to internationalisation was varied. Among members of the senior management teams in all universities, internationalisation was viewed as an integral part of the traditional purpose and mission of universities. Further down the ranks of university authority, internationalisation tended to be understood in terms of specific strategies that shape it.

Among the key strategies that shaped the understanding of internationalisation were international student recruitment, international staff recruitment, knowledge exchange programmes between institutions, knowledge creation partnerships between institutions, and curriculum internationalisation.

The concept of internationalisation was thus understood more in operational terms nearer an institution’s grassroots. While some universities in Africa tended to have offshore education programmes, this was not part of internationalisation in South Africa.

Inadequate support from senior leadership

Except for a few universities, the study found that there were structural deficiencies in which senior management lacked adequate direct involvement to support the important aspect of internationalisation in higher education in South Africa.

In this regard, it said that lower tier leaders at the grassroots level sometimes felt a lack of clarity about reporting lines.

A general rule was that accountability dissipated when there were no visible clear structures to support developmental initiatives. Where this responsibility existed at the senior management team (vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellors) level, it was sometimes seen as an addendum to other more important roles.

Academic xenophobia

While many in the universities, especially those in senior management roles, denied the existence of academic xenophobia, lower down the ranks the perceptions ranged from views that academic xenophobia is largely swept under the carpet to those that suggest that it is widely practised in South African universities.

Academic xenophobia is likely driven by local politics and staff unions in universities. Over the years, the recruitment of international staff in universities has been greatly hindered by the South Africa-first policy.

In some universities, if a South African candidate meets the threshold criteria for recruitment, the question of recruitment by quality falls away as the South Africa-first policy dictates that universities ought to only opt for non-South Africans after an exhaustive search, as dictated by the labour law.

Although the South Africa-first policy is not documented on paper, its practice in some universities seems to influence recruitment strategies, especially the recruitment of international staff.

Challenges faced

One of the objectives of the study was to suggest a framework for engagement with other higher education systems interested in partnering or collaborating with South African universities to further the objectives of internationalisation.

Despite efforts and potential towards embracing internationalisation by most public universities in South Africa, many face significant challenges, which could constitute rallying points for successful working collaboration and partnerships.

These included inadequate funding by the government and low prioritisation of internationalisation activities in the funding order of needs, the continued dominance of the Western canon in curricula and administration and the persistent preference of Western partners and collaborators and the neglect or sidelining of other knowledge systems, especially African knowledge systems, essentially due to funding and resource prospects within the collaboration or partnerships.

Furthermore, the study found internal leadership weaknesses, especially leadership on the scholarship of internationalisation and a growing politically and locally motivated tendency towards academic xenophobia, which might erode the international capital of public universities.

The silencing of emerging themes such as decolonisation, knowledge diplomacy and transdisciplinarity in government priorities seemed to negate the vigorous efforts of grassroots scholarship.

Dr Lavern Samuels, the IEASA president, said the report marks an important milestone and he hopes it will assist South African universities and other higher education stakeholders to implement the DHET’s Policy Framework.

“Sharing insights into the intentions, practices, opportunities and constraints regarding internationalisation endeavours of 19 South African universities, it facilitates deeper understanding of the current state of higher education internationalisation in the country. As such, it is a valuable resource that will inform the planning of future actions in support of internationalisation in South Africa, including future research,” Samuels said.

Recommendations

The report concludes with several recommendations for institutions, government departments and project partners.

Recommendations for institutions

• The study recommends that internationalisation be woven into institutions’ structures so that all champion it.

• Institutional and national mechanisms must be established to strengthen collaboration among partners within institutions and beyond.

• A balanced recruitment process should be encouraged to fulfil the mission of quality and world-class education.

• As institutions embrace internationalisation, there must be policies to curb both overt and covert xenophobia.

• Both administrative and intellectual personnel should be appointed in international offices, providing both excellent administrative and organisational momentum, as well as the academic and scholarship direction to drive meaningful change and transformation in universities.

• Restructure senior management to promote their visibility at lower levels of institutional leadership, where implementation of the policy mainly takes place, to enhance internationalisation

Recommendations for government departments

• Create national mechanisms such as dialogues through structures such as USAf, through which discussions and debates can occur across the sector, intra- and cross-institutionally.

• The DHET, in conjunction with the National Research Foundation, should consider supporting the establishment of chairs and centres of excellence for internationalisation in South Africa to help grow the academic leadership that is in short supply right across the sector.

• Support from government directed to historically disadvantaged institutions to confront inequalities in higher education should be increased and sustained.

• Since the higher education sector is not fully ready to implement the DHET Policy Framework, DHET, in conjunction with its partners such as IEASA and the British Council, should organise a summit to kickstart the implementation of the framework.

• Drive visa and immigration reform to address inadequate arrangements for international students.

• The government should reduce reliance on Western support by driving increased financial support for internationalisation to secure greater control of its purposes and intentions, for instance developing cross-sectoral, regional and continental knowledge creation hubs to support the much-needed decolonisation of South African universities’ international dimensions.

Recommendations for project partners

• IEASA and the British Council, as project partners, could use research results to showcase South African higher education institutions as beacons of excellence.

• Partners should strive to increase the visibility of ongoing dialogues on internationalisation.

• Further research regarding the internationalisation of higher education should be conducted around emerging discourses in higher education in the Global South, the prevalence and impact of academic xenophobia in universities in South Africa, and cognitive justice, equality and social justice for international students in South African universities.