The University of South Africa (Unisa) 1918-1948: the first transition, from colonial to segregationist institution

Abstract

This article traces the first of what would become several significant transitions in the evolution of the University of South Africa (Unisa); that from University of the Cape of Good Hope (UCGH), an institution with a distinct English tradition loosely based on the 'liberal' constitution of the Cape Colony, to a more segregationist Afrikaner-dominated university by 1946. This was largely shaped by national politics, in particular the rise of Afrikaner nationalism, in the 1920s and 30s. Not only did Unisa become captive to Afrikaner forces, it also was strongly infiltrated by the Broederbond, which had as one of its objectives the holding of key positions in higher education in South Africa. In addition, issues of race now became a growing 'problem' as Unisa sought to fulfil its mandate to provide higher education for 'non-Europeans' in an era of segregation. However, it would be a distortion to portray this transition fom a simple binary perspective. There was ambivalence about...