The politics and economics of postapartheid higher education transformation

The discourses of neoliberalism and global market competition dominate social and economic agendas at the beginning of the twenty- first century. In particular, global competition and new managerialism have underpinned the recent emphases on accountability and administrative efficiency, and there has been a permeation of contemporary business practices and private sector ideas or values in public sector institutions. Although there is general agreement on the need to reform higher education and training (HET) provision in this context, such reform efforts are often charachterized by competing interests, contradictions, and even compromises. This article has explored policies and processes relating to the transformation of HET in postapartheid South Africa at the time when HET worldwide is being reformed and reconfigured in order to respond to the neoloberal ethos, new managerialism and global economic competitveness. (DIPF/orig.).