Using Oral History to Redress Moral Degeneration Amongst the Youth in Higher Education Institutions of South Africa
Sebea Busi Promsie 
, Kunene Welile Bongiwe & Maditsi Mothusiotsile Edwin
Issue: Vol.10 No. 6 June 2024 Special Issue Article 7 pp.65-78
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20241067 | Published online 6th June, 2024.
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Africa has a rich oral history of indigenous peoples that is enshrined in their indigenous stories, folklore, myths, and legends. Indigenous elders in Africa have remained the key aspect who transmit knowledge from generation to generation by word of mouth. Moral degeneration is a problem throughout African communities generally, and South Africa particularly where there is growth in anti-social behaviour amongst the current generation. The study utilized qualitative document analysis (QDA) research methods to elucidate meaning from previously published works. The findings revealed that the youth today lack respect and morals in higher education institutions. Educators in higher education institutions are concerned over many issues that relate to the moral behaviour of the youth. Among those issues, learners are heavily affected by new concerns such as teenage pregnancy crime, suicide, alcohol, and drug abuse. Moral delinquency is at the core of their lives, and this has proven to be a serious concern. Consequently, the current education system which is devoid of indigenous knowledge fails to communicate positive morals to students leading to moral degeneration. This is proof that the facilitators in higher institutions should be equipped with skills to educate young people about morals. It is concluded that higher education institutions should be refined to respond to societal problems and challenges thereby reconstructing the morals of the youth. Without morals, the youth will have nothing and if their morals are not redressed, South Africa is likely to have immoral leaders tomorrow. This paper contributes to the area of oral history and indigenous knowledge as it advocates that oral history serves as an influential instrument for maintaining culture.
Keywords: Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Indigenous Knowledge, Moral Regeneration, Indigenous Ethics, University.
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Busi Promsie Sebea is currently studying at North-West University, Mafikeng campus South Africa and pursuing a degree in Master of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. She completed her Bachelors of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in 2024. She is also recognised as one of the top 15 students in her course of study by golden key international honor society at Mafikeng campus. Her current research focus is on the Role of Vatsonga Traditional Birth Attendants in Maternal Health Care at Magude District, Mozambique. She matriculated in 2017 at Ponego Secondary School in Gauteng (Germiston). In 2017 she participated in a programme called Vushilo which equipped students with moral support about social ills encountered in their everyday lives. She is passionate about making significant contributions in community engagements.
Welile Bongiwe Kunene was a student at North-West University, South Africa for the past four years (2020-2023) where she pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Indigenous Knowledge Systems. In 2021 she was recognized by Golden Key International Honours Society as one of the top performing students in her field of study. In the same year, she was appointed as a Supplemental Instruction Facilitator for the module: The role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in climate change. She matriculated in 2018 where she was enrolled at Ziphakamiseni High School situated in Newcastle the third-largest city of Kwazulu-Natal province where she studied commercial subjects and obtained a Bachelor’s pass. She is interested in seeing morals of the current generation being restored.
Mothusiotsile Edwin Maditsi is a lecturer and Community Engagement Coordinator at the North-West University’s (NWU) Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) Centre. He holds a BA (Hons) in Indigenous Knowledge Systems and a Master of Indigenous Knowledge Systems degree (MIKS) both from NWU. He has participated and facilitated some community engagement (CE) activities for and on behalf of the IKS Centre at National, provincial, and local level. Some of the CE activities include the IK Act no 6 of 2019 Public Consultations, the Biocultural Community Protocols public awareness workshops and IK Regulations public consultations across the country. Otsile lectures BIKS modules from 1st to 4th year level and he also supervises honors and master’s research projects. He is a member of South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum (SAHECEF) and he has presented at both international and national conferences. He works with the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) on projects such as the IK-Led smart village, IK Regulations, IKSDC project and a host of other projects at national level. In his PhD he is focusing on decolonizing university community engagement (UCE) through indigenous communities of practice (iCoPs) using the NWU as a case study. Since assuming his position as a lecturer, he has shown dedication and commitment in decolonizing the teaching, learning, research, and innovation activities within the higher education sector. He is focused on achieving scholarship of engagement which is at the peak of higher education debates.
Promsie, Sebea Busi, Kunene Welile Bongiwe & Maditsi Mothusiotsile Edwin.“Using Oral History to Redress Moral Degeneration Amongst the Youth in Higher Education Institutions of South Africa,” E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 10 no.6 Special Issue(2024): 65-78. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.20241067
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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