Institution-Induced Absenteeism of Second-Year Communication Students: A Social Justice Case in a University of Technology in South Africa

Abstract

There are various reasons behind the attendance or non-attendance of university students in lectures. While this study attempts to explore the specific reasons behind this phenomenon of students’ absenteeism from Communication 2 lectures in a particular university, it also addresses the existing gap within the local research context. This is a case study that focuses on why a specific group of Black students in a particular university of technology chose to stay away from lectures for a whole semester, when attendance was mandatory. In this article, I argue that reasons for student absenteeism from lectures can be neither academic nor personal. They may be deeply embedded in coloniality as it continues to manifest in institutional systems and praxes. Qualitative data were sourced from interviews, focus group discussions and a questionnaire. Students can be motivated by the state of their lecture rooms to attend or not to attend lectures. This becomes evident when lecture venues have the potential to expose students to health hazards. The main aspects of this study—social justice and human dignity—were conceptualised through Fraser’s paradigms of redistribution and recognition and Gilabert’s dignitarian approach. The findings show that Black students’ alienation stems not only from South Africa’s Eurocentric university curriculum but also from other systemic factors. This study found that the lecture and tutorial spaces allocated to the students were not conducive to human use, thus making it easy for students to stay away from lectures. To provide epistemic support to these students, this article endorses Gilabert’s assertion that it is essential to respond appropriately to the valuable qualities in each person that give rise to their dignity.