Fezokuhle Mthonti
Post-apartheid South Africa,
saw a number of legislative
decisions come into play, which sought to create a more inclusive socio
political environment in which South Africans could start to reconcile
themselves with the numerous
institutional and political divisions that had polarized them for so long. Part of this legislative
process was the release of the Education White Paper- A programme for Higher Education Transformation. This paper was
drafted by the National Commission on Higher Education (NHCE) in 1997 and
sought to integrate the theoretical practice of community engagement into the
fabric of South African Higher Education. In a paper entitled Embedding Community Engagement in South
African Education Mabel Erasmus argues that the White Paper “called on
higher education institutions to ‘demonstrate social responsibility and
commitment to the common good by making available, expertise and infrastructure
for community service programmes’.” (Erasmus:2008,57) Further to that, Erasmus
argues that “one of the goals of higher education, is ‘to promote and develop
social responsibility and awareness among students and to increase the role of
higher education in social and economic development through community service
programmes’.” (Erasmus:2008,57)
