UKZN
The plight of tutors at UKZN:
who is the real culprit?
by Percy Ngonyama
At an institution such as the University of
KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) where, regrettably, for a number of reasons, issues
affecting the University community are seldom openly discussed, the ongoing
debate elicited by Brian Zondo's well argued piece on the dire situation of
tutors must be welcome.
While the emphasis remains on those rendering this
service in the School of Sociology, tutors from many other schools are experiencing
problems and are desperate for a platform where these could be raised, debated
and, possibly, resolved.
Indeed, the culture of vigorous debate and
discussion, at the centre of our struggle against apartheid, must be
resuscitated if we are serious about resolving the widespread problems of not
only our institution, but of the entire 'new' South Africa.
And in
debating these problems, we should never overlook the structural element.
The debate around tutors, particularly last month;
described as workers' month, should be broadened and deepened, and their plight
should not be seen in isolation from the overall neo-liberalism induced crisis
facing the education sector in South Africa. Moreover, making the necessary
link between the commodification of education and the corporatisation of
tertiary institutions and the associated negative repercussions is crucial.
Unfortunately, while throwing unwarranted
accusations at easy scapegoats, as in Yajiv Haripersad's analysis in 'Exploitation
from below', we risk losing a wonderful opportunity to getting to the bottom of
the problem. And, rest assured, that
this is precisely the intention of those making a killing from the
commodification of education, from the corporate bosses who have fattened their
wallets as a result of the outsourcing and privatisation of
'non-core' functions; to the handsomely remunerated University top management.
Any analysis that views students as the 'enemy' is
grossly flawed and amounts to shifting the blame to the victim. And such
mentality is so beloved by the ruling elite and bureaucrats at the centre of
prevalent man-made societal problems, since conveniently, attention is diverted
from the issues. And this 'blame game' is replicated throughout society
allowing the real culprits to get away with murder. In this 'victim blame
victim' environment, students also often shift the blame to 'terrible' and, on some occasions, to
'racist' tutors and lecturers for many of the structural problems they
experience.
While some students may appear 'troublesome' and
'lazy', the sad reality is that students are just as helpless victims of the
situation, given, amongst others, deteriorating resources in computer LANS and
libraries. Having to stand in long queues waiting one's turn to type
assignments and do research is not very pleasant.
Furthermore, given the socio-economic conditions of
many South African families, many students battle to afford readings, textbooks,
photocopies, and even food in the era where the principle 'Money talks,
everything else walks' reigns supreme. All these, being completely ignored,
contribute negatively to learning and teaching which has an impact on the work
of tutors and relations between students and tutors. We may even want to debate
whether, in the backdrop of all the problems, students as consumers, are getting
their money's worth.
It is therefore very naïve to see the exploitation
of tutors as emanating from below. The people at the bottom; the students,
simply do not have the means and the 'know how' to exploit. On the contrary,
given the interconnectedness of the issues, tutors should seek to forge links
with students in tackling matters of mutual concern and in forging unity
against the common enemy. The 'enemy' could be very broadly defined.
This has many challenges, including having to deal
with the sad reality that mainstream student organisations are in an unofficial
alliance with management and have turned a blind eye to many issues affecting
students and interfering with the right to learn in their new 'comprador' role
as management's 'praise singers.'
Also critical, is to link up with tutors on other
campuses of the University who are in a similar situation. After all, what is
taking place at our institution is a nationwide and, without a doubt, a global
phenomenon triggered by corporate globalisation.
As tutors engage in rigorous debate about the super
exploitation of their cheap labour,
they should be wary not to succumb to 'divide and rule'?the boss's very effective
dirty strategy? blaming fellow victims. Getting up and standing up for their labour rights
are long overdue for tutors at UKZN.
The prospect of withholding of labour power should be seriously
looked into.
As our experience, past and present, will tell us,
sometimes, this is the only language bureaucrats understand.
Percy Ngonyama is a MA student and a Tutor in the
Department of Historical and
Internet Studies.
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