South Africa’s Policy Framework for Higher Education Internationalisation: A Decolonial Perspective

Abstract

This article critically discusses the Policy Framework for Internationalisation of Higher Education in South Africa, as adopted by the South African government in late 2020. Using a decolonial lens, it adds a critical voice to public discourse on the country’s first national policy for higher education internationalisation. The article argues that the Policy Framework needs to engage more vigorously with decolonisation as one of the most pertinent issues affecting higher education in South Africa today. It offers perspectives on what shifting the geography and biography of knowledge means in the context of the Policy Framework, thus opening up the possibility of moving South Africa from being primarily a receiver to a creator of internationalisation knowledge and practice.