The Recruitment, Retention, and Support for Black South Africans in Academia

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18410225

Simon Matome Nkgapele¹ and Sifiso Mofokeng² (Department of Public Administration, University of Limpopo, South Africa¹ and Department of Public Management and Leadership, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa²)

Even after thirty-two years of South Africa having equality and transformation policies, Black South Africans remain underrepresented as academics in universities. Previous studies conducted by other scholars have not focused on how Black South Africans are recruited and retained in universities. This present qualitative article closes the gap and looks at their recruitment, and the support is offered to Black South Africans in pursuing careers in higher academia. This includes how to retain them. The authors of this article found that in terms of recruitment as well as retention, trends are affected by elements such as temporary contracts, limited postgraduate pipeline, poor mentorship, inequitable access to research resources and career guidance for early-career academics. The findings further show that there are support programmes initiated by the government, such as National Research Foundation (NRF) funding, Nurturing Emerging Scholars (NESP), Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP), New Generation of Academics Programme (NGAP), and postdoctoral fellowships. These programmes provide opportunities for mentorship and career progression. Even though these programmes are available, the authors indicate the necessity for more awareness initiatives to be put in place to ensure that every Black South African is fully aware of these programmes.