by ANGELA GUBBA submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF ...

524 Pages·2015·3.22 MB·English

The effects of student migration to South African universities on higher education in
Zimbabwe

by

ANGELA GUBBA

submitted in accordance with the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

in the subject

EDUCATION MANAGEMENT

at the

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA

SUPERVISOR: PROF. S. G. PRETORIUS

NOVEMBER 2014
DECLARATIONS

STUDENT NUMBER: 47740698

I, Angela Gubba hereby declare that THE EFFECTS OF STUDENT MIGRATION
INTO SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES ON HIGHER EDUCATION IN ZIMBABWE
is my own work and that all the sources that I have used have been indicated and
acknowledged by means of complete references.

...................................................... ....................................................

ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Though the journey of carrying out this research was a long, strenuous challenge, I
did not walk it alone. For this reason, the study was a success. God was on my side
through the brightest days and the darkest nights. I am grateful for that.
I want to thank my children, Yeukai, Wadzanai and Gwinyai, for the encouragement
and support that gave me the will-power to keep me going.
I also want to thank my mother who taught me reverence of God, love, endurance
and courage.
I am thankful to the students, parents, administrators and lecturers who participated
in this work. You shared with me your private world. This research was a success
because you allowed it.
I am grateful to my supervisor, Professor S.G. Pretorius. I owe the success of this
project to his unwavering support.
I also would like to thank Professor K. le Roux for editing this research.
I sincerely appreciate the assistance of Lashie and Francis Tsamba and family from
the beginning to the end of the research journey.
To Agnes and Martin Tsamba and family, I am thankful. I was very blessed to have
you on my side.
To the Chiwola family: Angie, Brighton, Mark and Melania, thank you all.
Thank you, Busie Nkomazana, for the encouragement.
To all the people whose names I cannot state here, but who helped in many ways, I
am sincerely grateful.

iii
ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to establish the effects on the Zimbabwean higher
educational system of student migration into South Africa for higher education. The
study was motivated by the rising number of Zimbabwean students migrating to
South Africa for that purpose, aided in doing so by their schools and other
organisations. Rising migration rates are substantiated not only by the growing
number of students departing the country for a foreign university, but by the parents
who support their going and the administrators and lecturers in Zimbabwean
universities who witness migration‟s impacts on the nation‟s higher education.
A qualitative research design was employed for data collection. A review was first
conducted of the empirical evidence of student migration rates. Data were collected
through conversations and interviews, the interview-guide approach, and recorded
cell-phone interviews. The qualitative research design was motivated by grounded
theory, narrative qualitative inquiry, interim analysis and interpretive epistemology.
These approaches jointly ensured that the data would be most suitable for the
study‟s intensions.
The study investigated the international and local factors contributing to the out-
migration of Zimbabwean students in general and, in particular, into South African
higher educational institutions. Interviewees reported that migration was motivated
mainly by the condition of the Zimbabwean economy. Findings also clarified the
effects of the migration process on the educational system in Zimbabwe. Those
effects emerge as challenges that must be addressed in the Zimbabwean higher
education system. Policy recommendations for addressing such challenges are
provided.

KEY CONCEPTS
Student migration, globalization, internationalization, higher education
iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AU African Union
B.A. Bachelor of Arts
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BC British Council
CARA/IOM Council for Assisting Refugee Academics
CEB Cambridge Examination Board
CHEA Council for Higher Education Accreditation
CNN Cable News Network
CSC Cambridge School Certificate
DRC Democratic Republic of Congo
EFA Education for All
EMIS Education Management Information Systems
ERASMUS European Community Action Scheme for the
Mobility of University Students
ERIC Educational Resources Information Centre
E.U. European Union
GATS General Agreement on Trade in Service
Grad. C. E Graduate Certificate in Education
HECP Higher Education Commission of Pakistan
HIV and AIDS Human Immuno-deficiency Virus and Acquired
v
Immuno-deficiency Syndrome
ICEF Inner City Economic Forum
IEASA International Education Association of South Africa
IIE Institution of International Education
IMF International Monetary Fund
IOM International Organization for Migration
IORARC Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
ITCs Industrial Training Centres
JHEA Journal of Higher Education in Africa
JSTOR Journal Storage
KAUST King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MESDC Main English Speaking Destination Countries
MENA Middle East and North Africa
MHTE Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education
MIT Massachusetts Institution of Technology
MP Member of Parliament
NAMACO National Manpower Advisory Council
NEPAD The New Partnership for Africa‟s Development
OECD Organisation for Economic and Cultural Development
PMI Prime Minister‟s Initiative
QS Question and Answer
vi
RESA Regional Education Service Agencies
SAD Southern African Development Committee
SAQA South African Qualifications Authority
SARUA Southern African Regional Universities Association
SOL Skills Occupation List
TNE Transnational Education
TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training
U.A.E. United Arab Emirates
UCT University of Cape Town
UGC University‟s Grant Commission
UIS/IB UNESCO Institute of Statistics/ Information Bulletin
U.K. United Kingdom
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
UNEVOC International Centre for Technical Vocational Education and
Training
U.S. United States
U.S.A. United States of America
UZ University Zimbabwe
WB World Bank
WES World Education News
Wits Witwatersrand University
vii
WTO World Trade Organisation
www World Wide Web
ZANU (PF) Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front)
ZICHE Zimbabwe Council of Higher Education
ZIMCHE Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education
ZIMSEC Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council

viii
CONTENTS
Page
Dedication ............................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements...................................................................................................iii
Abstract ................................................................................................ ...................iv
Key Concepts.. ................................................................................................... .....iv
List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................ .....v
CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... ..ix
List of Figures ...................................................................................................... xxxi
List of Tables .......................................................................................................xxxii

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ..................................................... 1
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ...................................................... 2
1.3 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ............................................................ 8
1.3.1 Awareness of the problem .................................................................. 8
1.3.2 Formulation of the research problem .................................................. 9
1.3.3 Sub-problems ................................................................................... 10
1.4 AIMS OF THE STUDY ..................................................................... 10
1.4.1 The main aim ..................................................................................... 10
1.4.2 Sub-aims….. .................................................................................. ..10
ix
1.5 METHODS OF THE RESEARCH ......................................................11
1.5.1 Literature review ..................................................................................12
1.5.2 Empirical study.....................................................................................13
1.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK...........................................................14
1.7 FURTHER STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY..........................................15
1.8 DEFINITION OF THE KEY CONCEPTS..............................................17
1.8.1 Higher education..................................................................................17
1.8.2 Student.................................................................................................17
1.8.3 Student migration.................................................................................17
1.8.4 Student mobility....................................................................................17
1.9 CONCLUSION.....................................................................................18

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW: STUDENT MIGRATION FROM
AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

2.1 INTRODUCTION………………………….........……................................20
2.2 ORGANIZATION OF THE CHAPTER...................................................21
2.3 THE BACKGROUND TO STUDENT MIGRATION..............................21
2.3.1 The historical background to international student migration...............21
2.3.2 Changes in student migration...............................................................23
2.3.3 Trends in student migration .................................................................29
x