Page 70 - Transformation Indaba Report

emPloyment equity; ProfessoriAte/AssoCiAte ArofessoriAte

Profile; Promotions; CAPACity develoPment ProgrAmmest

dAy 2, breAkAwAy room 4 │ Facilitated by ED:HR Nandipha Sishuba

REPORT BACK ON THEMES TO PLENARY

• Under-representation at professoriate level needs to be redressed because its mostly racialised and gendered.
• The university must try to be intentional about policies of redress.
• Are we building up early-career academics and missing-middle academics to be able to reach professoriate level?
• Need to develop academics further through capacity building for example, support programmes.
• Transformation should not only be on paper but be actioned. Hold people accountable for not reaching transformation
goals, so that we get to where we are supposed to be. Every department should be responsible for producing academics
at professoriate level.
• Better representation at all staff levels (not only academics)
• Staff who are about to retire can mentor academics so that we address the problem of the missing middle. The employ-
ment cycle needs to be looked at.

ADDITIONAL THEMES
• Role of Council – planning ahead in terms of ringfenced funds for transformation; and looking at the employment cycle.
• More intentional work around disabled staff

SUMMARY OF POINTS MADE DURING BREAKAWAY

o Under-representation at professoriate level is a sector-wide challenge. The professoriate remains racialised and
gendered. No standard approach to addressing this. Some good support programmes exist within the sector and Dept.
Need to establish enablers and support mechanisms to build transformed professoriate.
o The TB provides the sector with the basics and acts as a guide.
o KPAs and Performance Appraisal system should reflect transformation goals and objectives, to build accountability and
enhance monitoring. Where transformation objectives are being achieved, acknowledge the good work done. Account
ability can be enhanced through a ‘critical reader’ (assess the institution’s reports to the Dept).
o Councils must plan ahead in terms of funding for transformation and the employment cycle. (Identify future vacancies)
o Fast track early career academics and address the missing middle issue.
o Be more intentional with regards to disabled staff.
o Keep retired academically active academics in the system to provide support to academics.

KEY POINTS MADE DURING B/A DISCUSSION we address this in a systematic way, in terms of the pipeline
we need to put in place at senior lecturer/lecturer level? So
• From a TMF/VUT viewpoint, the issue of under-represent- that we can draw senior academics from the pipeline. How
ation at professoriate level is a vexing challenge for the it’s done varies from institution to institution and some have
HE sector. Without exception, the professoriate remains well-thought through programmes. DHET has it’s SA Staffing
racialised and gendered. An important question: How do Framework and it’s ‘Future Professors Programme’.

NelsoN MaNdela UNiversity • traNsforMatioN iNdaba • 2022 64