Transformation in South Africa’s higher education institutions should not focus on race exclusively, but should widen the spectrum to issues such as class, gender and sexuality.

This is according to Dr Thabo Msibi, a senior lecturer at the School of Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) during a recent HIV/AIDS seminar hosted by DUT’s Department of Counseling and Health.

“The higher education institutions view race as the type of knowledge which must be taught and that becomes a problem because transformation becomes only about race. When we speak about transformation in higher education, we often speak of race and then exclude other forms of identification,” he said during his presentation while criticizing the mechanisms that are currently in place to tackle discrimination in higher education.

The emerging scholar in the field of LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex) research said an investigation in relation to discrimination and social cohesion in higher education institutions found that there was discrimination on the basis of race. Interestingly, it also found that there was discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation as well as various other forms of classification.

During his presentation, he warned that there was a danger in “compartmentalising” ideas around transformation in higher education. He added that transformation should not only be focused on students, but also on lecturers and university administration. “Challenges faced by universities will continue to happen if intersectional forms of identification are ignored. We need to prioritise intersectionality and adopt mechanisms that recognise multiplicity and complexity,” said Dr Msibi.

Dr Msibi holds a Honors Bachelor of Education degree (summa cum laude) from UKZN, a Master of Education degree from Columbia University, New York, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. He is a published scholar, with several articles and chapters in local and international journals and books. His postgraduate degrees have directly focused on LGBTI issues, with his PhD exploring the sexual and professional identity constructions of African male teachers from rural and township contexts who engage in same-sex relations.

Students engaged intensively with Dr Msibi during the seminar. DUT Alumni, Thamsanqa Mahlobo said transformation should mainly focus on economic equality in order to empower graduates to fight inequality, poverty and unemployment.

Dr Msibi concluded by noting that higher education has problems that go across race and those are shared problems that affect everyone in the country. His solution to the problem statement of the presentation was the exploration how the history of South Africa manifests itself in contemporary society. Another solution he discussed was the exploration of nationhood and its implications on identification politics. He said an intersectional and more “queered” road to transformation was required to do away with the existing “singular approach”.

-Gift Nyamapfene

Pictured from left: Members of DUT’s Department of Student Counseling and Health, Naseem Haniff, Ndumiso Ngidi, UKZN’s Dr Thabo Msibi, Sooriaghandi Wardthen from DUT’s Department of Student Counseling and Health as well as DUT based HIV/AIDS activist, Oziel Mdletshe.