Education for Liberation

Statement of Purpose

The mission of Khanya College is to:

1. Provide education which is relevant for the needs of historically oppressed communities
2. Contribute to the strengthening of community based organisations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations
3. Contribute to a process of social change and development, especially in education
4. Operate democratically, accountably and efficiently

Brief History of Khanya College

Khanya College was founded in 1986 as a project of the South African Committee for Higher Education (Sached) Trust. The original purpose of the college was to provide university access courses for people who had been active in community and mass organisations. In addition to providing access for students, Khanya was set up as an alternative form of tertiary education. The college, therefore, attempted to run democratically and encouraged students to return to serve their communities after completing their studies. As part of Khanya's commitment to development, each student had to work for at least half a day per week in a progressive NGO or mass organisation.

In 1992, Khanya decided to expand its commitment to building democratic organisations by starting a Community Division, later renamed the Labour and Community (Lacom) Division. The Lacom division has specialised in training for civics, unions, student organisations, churches and other community based structures.

The orientation of the college towards mass organisations has been deepened over the last few years. The emergence of a range of new social movements in the post-apartheid period has posed new challenges to the college. The college has responded to the emergence of these new movements by developing a number of new programmes, and by deepening its relationship with the movements. Click here for a complete history of Khanya College in PDF.