Tshilidzi Marwala’s vision for transformative Higher Education
The plenary session titled The University, its Future and Academic Freedom – A Global Conversation presented a range of perspectives, from a veteran politician advocating for universities to become activists for global change and academic freedom, to a higher education strategist cautioning universities on the danger of blindly accepting educational technologies.
Enter Professor Tshilidzi Marwala (left), Rector of the Tokyo, Japan-based United Nations University. His vision for a transformative approach to education by embracing innovation, inclusivity, and social responsibility brought this plenary session full circle as he grappled with challenges ranging from climate change and economic instability to rapid technological evolution – a combination he described as a ‘polycrisis’.
He drew from a United Nations Environment Programme report to provide evidence that climate change, pollution, and technological change were “synchronising and amplifying each other.” These, he said, posed risks to planetary health and the well-being of humanity. “We are standing at the edge of a polycrisis,” he noted — thus underlining an urgent need to rethink higher education.
“Business as usual must become business unusual,” Marwala said, meaning that conventional models of higher education were no longer sufficient to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world. With rising student debt, particularly in South Africa, where the estimated student debt stood at R700 million in 2023 alone and the national student debt figure reaching R17 billion, Marwala emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in higher education. Noting the global nature of student debt, he said this was as much of a challenge in the United Kingdom as it was in the United States, where $1.7 trillion was owed in student loans as of the second quarter of 2024.
These issues brought the very purpose of universities under sharp focus: “Do we provide education without considering the end results? Do we become instrumental and serve the needs of the state and the economy?” Challenging higher education to reflect on its role in society, he called for a delicate balance between serving economic needs and focusing on education as a fundamental right. This underscored the need for institutions to adapt their structures and purposes to address these interconnected global challenges.
The professor then turned to Artificial Intelligence and its potential to transform higher education. “Generative AI tends to play a particularly transformative role in higher education by enhancing personalised learning, improving and widening access to educational resources and fostering innovative teaching methods. It enables the creation of tailored educational content that addresses diverse linguistic and cultural context, which promotes inclusivity. AI tools can assist educators in developing interactive and engaging materials, facilitating deeper understanding and retention of knowledge.”
He believes that the sector needs to consider responsible integration of technologies in teaching and learning, saying that “effective and responsible implementation also requires cultural policies and ongoing research.” Touching on the marginalisation of African knowledge systems in global technology adoption, he argued about the effect of such exclusion on local innovation, further asserting that educational institutions can execute technology integration while remaining culturally relevant – staying true to traditional African values and knowledge.
He also mentioned AI’s potential to streamline administrative tasks, thus freeing up teaching staff time from repetitive administrative functions to pay more attention to enhancing quality pedagogy. “AI-powered tools can assist educators in developing interactive and engaging materials,” he said. This is an important aspect of developing personalised learning experiences, especially when the conventional forms of education are incomplete.
Marwala’s vision for higher education includes a commitment to addressing social injustices. He advocates for educational pathways that are inclusive and accessible, particularly for students in rural areas. “If students in remote areas are still battling to access education degrees, an argument can be made that the power inherent in AI can be leveraged to counter this social injustice,” he asserts – arguing for knowledge democratisation.
He said this necessitates upskilling and reskilling in an increasingly transformative job market. “Traditional degree programmes, while still viable, are increasingly being complemented, or even replaced, by flexible and targeted learning options,” he says. By embracing new learning modalities like micro-credentials and massive open online courses, universities can equip students with the skills necessary to thrive in a dynamic workforce.
Echoing one of the points made by Dr Naledi Pandor on universities as agents of social change, he highlighted the sector’s potential to inspire hope and agency to challenge systematic injustices and envision a more just and humane world.
He said unless universities opened new opportunities and knowledge, they risked becoming sites of oppression. “If education does not open doors to new vistas, there is potential for our education to be narrow and ultimately lessen in value,” he warned, reinforcing the notion of universities as nurturers of critical thinkers capable of shaping a complex world.
“The notion of a neutral, objective education is oxymoronic,” he says, advancing that education and pedagogy exist within power relations, values, and politics. Only when embracing technology as a driving force, he says, does higher education steer clear of the trap of narrow instrumentalism. Only then can the sector produce a generation of thinkers who will maneuver easily in the most difficult modern world.
Professor Marwala urged universities to advocate a paradigm incorporating technology, inclusivity, and social responsibility. While navigating today’s most critical challenges, he reminded higher education leaders that education is not simply an instrument for gaining economic ends, but an inalienable right to people empowerment toward changing injustices and imagining alternatives.
While conceding that there would be challenges on the road ahead, he maintained that collectively, institutions can commit to transformational education to achieve a just and equitable world. Professor Marwala was ultimately offering a roadmap for transforming higher education into a force for positive change, ensuring it remains relevant in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
Mduduzi Mbiza is a contract writer for Universities South Africa.
