Abstract:
This study explores the socio-cultural experiences of students at the University of the North
(UNIN) in the period between 1970 and 1994. The sampling of the study was purposive
and involved thirteen (13) participants who were students at UNIN in the 1970s, 80s
and 1990-1994. Data was collected using an interview guide and was analysed using
the Thematic Content Analysis as outlined by Braun and Clark (2011). To make sense
of the study aim and objectives, this study adopted a qualitative approach wearing an
Afrocentric pair of lenses. As shown by literature and the study’s findings, Historically
Black Universities (HBUs) in South Africa were established by the apartheid
government with the aim of serving Black students excluded from attending
segregated White-only universities. Some of the study findings are that former UNIN
students were subjected to a racialised institutional autonomy, racialised educational
curriculum as well as an unfriendly academic setting for both African students and
staff. The study therefore argues for inclusive and Africanised institutions of higher
learning in Africa and perhaps elsewhere in the world. This study also recommends
that institutional autonomy and educational curricula should be in line with an
Africanised value system.
