By Michael Burawoy, University of Witwatersrand.[1] Comrade Minister, the calling of this summit on higher education has been a bold, brave and imaginative move, indeed.   To bring together all the stake holders in higher education into one venue, here at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, could so easily court trouble and raise unrealizable expectations.  Especially [...]

Saleem Badat, Rhodes University, South Africa The global ranking of universities has come into prominence in the past few years. This paper analyses their value and what is at stake. I argue that such rankings generate false perceptions and prejudice the global South, and that they should be replaced by alternative instruments that better serve [...]

By Barbara Dickhaus, Kassel University, Germany There has been a global move towards new accountability regimes in higher education in recent years, promoted by US-American or European actors as well as by International Organizations like the World Bank or UNESCO. External quality assurance (QA) policies of universities like accreditations and audits reflect a paradigmatic shift [...]

By Edward Webster , University of Witwatersrand The globalisation of higher education has brought to the fore  a dilemma: how do universities world-wide react to the dominant  Anglo-Saxon driven system  of research based  international ranking ( The Times Higher Education system or the Shanghai Jino Tong system) . Initially these instruments  were introduced to provide [...]

By Kezia Lewins, University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits) as with other historically advantaged white English-medium universities in South Africa prides itself on its “open”, liberal tradition. Officially the university makes much of its role in opposing the Extension of University Education Act in 1959 which brought into law racialised [...]