Saving Fort Hare from ruin and restoring its proud legacy

The university is the seeker after truth in research, in teaching and in its outlook

- BARNEY PITYANA

I AM PROUD to have received my early tertiary education from the then University College of Fort Hare.

My activism, however, meant that I was among a number of students expelled from the university in 1968. We were then protesting the Bantustanisation of this historic liberal and missionary institution. JM de Wet assumed office as Vice Chancellor in July that year and we protested his appointment to the point of undertaking a protracted sit-down strike and peaceful demonstration. Since then, I have sought to stay close to the university, and I pledged to support my maiden institution in every way I can. We have also been watching developments at the university over a protracted period. The sense I have is that, in the post-apartheid era, the institution was still as volatile as it was during my time. And yet, there is reason to believe that Fort Hare today is no longer the same as it was during our time.

Academic freedom is held sacrosanct, and progressive research amidst amazing developments have been at play. The university has grown to become once again the pride of the black intelligentsia in our country. Its historic pedigree is invoked with pride and new academic initiatives have placed Fort Hare among the leading higher education institutions in our country. I was proud to attend the inauguration of Prof Sakhela Buhlungu as Principal and Vice Chancellor at the University of Fort Hare in 2017. We were full of pride and hope at what promised to be a new era of stability at the university after some years of instability. That was not to be. The inauguration ceremony itself was marred by protests over a salary dispute by the trade unions. Ironically, this against a new Vice Chancellor who was clearly being blamed for a breakdown in labour relations that he had inherited. Prof Buhlungu is a highly regarded Industrial Sociologist and industrial relations expert.