Analysis and discussion of the results
4.2 The analysis of observations
4.2.2 Programmes aimed at facilitating better working relations between the executive management and the student representative council
The functioning of the SRC begins when its member are inaugurated at the beginning of their term. The inaugural SRC luncheon has become a very important function which has afforded the Vice-Chancellor, as well as the other members of the management, an opportunity to meet the new SRC members.
Furthermore, the luncheon has become an effective platform for outlining expectations. It also helps in harmonising relations between the incoming Student Representative Council and the other stakeholders at MUT. During the first week or two of the term of office of a new SRC, there is usually disharmony between members of the structure. This is brought about by misunderstandings about the roles that the new SRC members are supposed to play.
In a situation like this, it is difficult even to refer to the SRC as a team. In some cases, these differences, if not properly managed, have the potential to
degenerate into open conflict, which may disrupt the normal functioning of the institution. The induction workshop which follows the inauguration of the SRC, assists in enabling the student representatives to work together by generating effective team-work. Similar situations have surfaced in previous years, and the induction workshops helps to steer the SRC in the right direction. The induction workshop is, throughout the year, followed by the following workshops that aim at empowering student structures:
• capacity-building workshop for the house committees;
• capacity-building workshop for executive committee members of structures;
• capacity-building workshop for class representatives; and
• team-building workshop for the Sports Union.
4.2.3 The student representative council elections
The lack of student civic engagement could be detrimental to the future of the budding South African democracy. There is an obvious decline in political participation and interest among young people, which doesn't bode well for an attempt to produce South Africans with democratic aspirations. For example at the Durban University of Technology, the 2007 SRC elections could barely attract 20% of student voters. Mangosuthu University of Technology, being an
extension of the South African society, has a responsibility to allow students to experience democracy at first hand. The SRC elections provide an ideal opportunity to instil ideas such as personal freedom and tolerance of divergent views.
The 2004 SRC elections were precedent-setting in the sense that they attracted a record number of voters. More than 4000 students voted out of a total number of 9879 students. Furthermore, it was the first time in the history of the
institution that such an election produced four female SRC members out of twelve, which has not yet tallied well with the fact that the majority of the institution's students are females. According to the 2007 registration records, 55% of the MUT student population is made up of females. Debates about gender imbalances that were facilitated by certain lecturers in their respective lecture halls had an impact on this development, and was one indication that academic life should not be separated from the social life of a students.
Furthermore, any debate about the suitability of candidates should be applauded, because they encourage staff members to develop an interest in student life.
There is a groundswell of opinion that academic performance should be used as one of the criteria for the screening of candidates for student elections. The University has, in the past, had to contend with 'bridging-course' students as well as those who were not interested in their studies, but who had taken an interest in participating in elections. This tended to devalue SRC elections and makes a mockery of the institution's raison d'etre, which is the provision of education. The disruptions in tertiary institutions tend to stem from the fact that some of the
student leaders perform poorly at academic level. They therefore lose faith in a stable academic environment and use their influence to disrupt academic activities. For example, in the years preceding 2003, SRC members had no restrictions in terms of the number of years that they could serve in the SRC office. This allowed a few members who had poor academic records to remain in the SRC for years on end.
In 2004, this matter was deliberated at student parliament level - a structure where all student formations discuss policy issues - and there was an agreement that the following criteria needed to be introduced as part of a policy that should govern the facilitation of elections:
• A candidate should have been a student at MUT for at least 12 months.
This would ensure that he/she is familiar with the internal environment.
• Every candidate should have passed at least 50% of his or her registered courses in the previous year. The student parliament felt that having such a condition was not an ideal situation, but was better than having no such condition.
• Pre-tech or Foundation students should not take part in elections. They had to prove themselves in terms of academic performance first.
• The maximum term of office for SRC members should be two years, provided they were re-elected.
4.2.5 The high failure rate at the University and the bearing it has on its