What Does It Mean to Be a Responsible 21st Century South African University?

This chapter explores three themes underlying debates on South African universities with respect to responsibility. The first is the dichotomy of the global versus the local in defining university identity and purpose. The second discusses the binary necessities to widen access, and to ensure sustainability, where achieving an appropriate balance often requires hard policy choices to be made. The third theme relates to a responsible curriculum, and here the debates on what should be taught are explored. These range from the need for decolonization, to the need to be more future-focused in preparation for participation in the fourth industrial revolution. The chapter concludes that the application of a consistent set of principles to making the difficult choices, tempered with significant pragmatism, will lead to a responsible higher education sector.