Distributive justice and information communication technologies in higher education in South Africa

Abstract

The international communications network is both a feature of globalization and a condition of possibility for the process of globalization. Universities are willy-nilly part of the process. This poses a range of dilemmas for universities in Africa. In this article we focus on some dilemmas of distributive justice as indicated in the question: Should South African universities introduce or develop on-line learning for flexible mode delivery under circumstances in which some students do not have access to Information Communication Technologies (ICTs)? Walzer's account of distributive justice provides an illuminating set of concepts for understanding the issues embedded in this dilemma. The concepts of simple and complex equality, and the related concepts of dominance and monopoly, social goods and the criteria for their distribution are especially pertinent. They are deployed to develop some tentative recommendations on how South African universities should approach dilemmas of distributive justice in the use of ICTs.



South African Journal of Higher Education Vol.16(1) 2002: 29-35