The repositioning of the HSRC to support educational change in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

The dawn of democracy in South Africa following the 1994 general elections and the formation of a democratic government preceded changes to institutions of governance to support a newly founded state. These were no ordinary changes, but paradigm shifts undergirded by a human rights-oriented constitution anchored on democratic values. Changes at state level were about changing the levers of state, aligning them to the new political context. Our chapter focuses on two such levers of the state, namely, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), a statutory research entity, and the Department of Education (now renamed the Department of Basic Education). Our concern is with the role the HSRC played in supporting post- apartheid education transformation in South Africa.