The need for South African (higher) education institutions to be attuned to education 4.0

Abstract

Higher education institutions in South Africa continue to face uncomfortable positions. These uncomfortable positions started with the #fallist movement – an alter-globalisation movement that argues for the decolonisation of the knowledge spheres in South African higher education to place African knowledge at the centre of learning. With the #fallist movement’s rhetoric forcing university academics to adapt the curriculum, content, methodologies and pedagogies aligned to the African experience through research and various platforms, the global context has already begun to shift towards the fourth industrial revolution. This shift towards the fourth industrial revolution thus places South African higher education institutions in an uncomfortable position of having to adapt teaching methodologies and pedagogies in line with the global context (Waghid, Waghid and Waghid 2018). Furthermore, in South African education, schools continue to function as institutions of manufacturing regarding preparing school learners for the industry. University academics’ perceptions regarding the type of students required for the economic, social, political and cultural spheres of society and the expected outcomes of school leaving learners for the current industry through a rigid Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement creates a misalignment of expectations (Waghid and Waghid 2018). The misalignment places both schools and universities in South Africa with the impending outcome of becoming obsolete in the fourth industrial revolution. Universities are thus challenged with the need to invoke in students who transition from schools in South Africa with the capacities to develop as global citizens while schools continue to function as “sorting machines” for a capitalist society.