Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa, said the management of the newly named Nelson Mandela University has a duty to make a greater contribution to building the nation.
He delivered the keynote address at the official launch of the institution's new name on Thursday, in which the word Metropolitan had been dropped from the title.
Ramaphosa told the audience, that included former Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke and Mandela's lawyer, George Bizos, that the Nelson Mandela University has to stand up to defend principles of non-racialism and non-sexism.
"We as the Nelson Mandela University are duty-bound to make sure that non-racialism is upheld in South Africa. Where sexism rears its head you are duty-bound to stand up and say no to sexism because the person we are named after promoted non-sexism," Ramaphosa said.
He said in naming this university after Nelson Mandela, "you are shouldering a great responsibility to encourage, educate and nurture the new generation about which Madiba wrote.
"You are shouldering the responsibility of giving life to Madiba’s dream of social equality. That means that this university must be at the forefront of efforts to make higher education accessible to the poor and marginalised. This university must be at the forefront of efforts to ensure that higher education is an instrument for the achievement of social equality – that it does not simply perpetuate privilege," the Deputy President said.
"While we have made huge strides in making higher education accessible, many capable and deserving young people are still not able to enter universities. Many of those who do gain enrolment struggle to succeed. Many study in substandard living conditions. The support they receive is not sufficient. Too many drop out," Ramaphosa said..
He said these were some of the challenges that a university named after Nelson Mandela will have to confront.
Earlier, Nelson Mandela University Chancellor, busineswoman Santie Botha, questioned whether the country's current political leadership can achieve the dream that Madiba had for South Africa, being prosperous and globally respected.
She says personally, she does not believe that this will happen. "The time has come, I believe, to re-brand South Africa, not in name but in values and delivery," Botha said.
"The values of a reignited and relaunched South Africa should reflect and encompass integrity, honesty, accountability and delivery for all its people and not just a select few. Eradication of all forms of corruption, underpinned by a world class primary, secondary and tertiary education system," Botha said.
She said that a drastic change in political leadership and political will is required to change our economic woes for the betterment of all South Africans. "Our currently hopeless 28% unemployement rate in a low growth economy is not where we as South Africans want to be. Needless to say the current volatile and polarised political climate will remain the single biggest threa to any real economic recovery," Botha said.
Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela University SRC President, Petro Mzileni, drew praise from Ramaphosa and other Speakers for his passionate speech.
Mzileni said that Madiba's legacy should embrace everything about his life, saying that the apartheid government had sent him to jail because he was a headache to them.
He said Madiba became a headache for the apartheid government by espousing the ideals of the Freedom Charter, which calls for the sharing of the wealth by the people, return of the land to the peopel as well as free education.
Mzileni said those were ideals that sent Madiba to jail and that is the legacy that is being celebrated.
"As students we are inspired by the young militant Mandela. That Madiba who is a commander in chief of uMkhonto We Sizwe. That Madiba who is a volunteer in chief of the defiance campaign, the founder of Young Lions, the ANC Youth League, that's the Mandela that inspires us, the radical one," he said.
