The fourth industrial revolution and the academic rights of students.

 It is now three years into the pandemic, the coronavirus started in 2019 according to various. The first reported case in South Africa was that of a couple that had returned from Italy. At that time Italy "January 2020" was the epicenter of the global outbreak of the highly infectious virus. By March 2020 President Cyril Ramaphosa declared that South Africa is to be in a state of emergency, the now known "the hard lockdown" virtually resulting in Universities, High Schools, Primary schools, Pre-Schools "Creche". All none essential establishments had to be closed down. As a means of protecting the population against the virus that had been taking people's lives all over the world. Considering South Africa is a third-world country like any African country. Enforcing a state of emergency was the only logical approach to saving the people's lives. By that time there were no vaccines available, countries and major pharmaceutical companies were in the process of testing and trialing the available vaccines to ensure that at least humanity is saved against the deadly virus. The pandemic ushered in an experience that humanity has never experienced before, others assuming that societies were dwindling to madness and horror. An apocalyptic aura was hovering over humanity and further denting the global economy by a margin that would ring an amber alert of a looming global recession that would evoke the global economical meltdown that dates back to 2008 era or even to the days of the great depression of 1929. In light of the fact that the pandemic has widened the gap between the haves and the have nots. Furthering the plight of many people into the gutters of misery. A Dickensian feeling lingers in this time and space where the rights of the people have and will and shall be exploited all for the betterment of the haves. Any sense of sanity nor humanness becomes a figment of any imagination. Thus one is drifted into trying to interrogate the time that we have been thrust into by the pandemic as it further exposes the vulnerability of the have nots, who make up the majority of society. 

"The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened" John F. Kennedy. 

Covid19 ushered the globe into a void that many are virgin about it and do not understand the terms and conditions that come along with the development of human societies. As humanity is at cross paths with technology and humanity the two infantile entities do not understand each other yet are excited about each other. The lack of knowledge and understanding behind the dos and don'ts of each sphere may, has resulted in conflicts between the ajar worlds. The marketing tag by major cooperations that are determined to extract the last penny in many peoples wallets such as, "all in the comfort of your home, with just one click and it's done or save your time by just following the easy steps". The calls for action have drafted many into the psychology of accessing convenience at the comfort of their homes, or places of relaxation. Indeed the past two decades before the pandemic have been an exhausting window. Where senseless wars have taken place, miners were murdered by the state for asking an increase in their salaries after tax R12.500, students mauled, assaulted, abused, and arrested for requesting to be accorded their right to education at that same breath to be treated with at least some dignity attached in being a student. Sooner or later something would be thrown into the works just to at least give humanity and its society some time to breathe, reflect, and reboot. In this case, one would suggest that the Covid19 was the catalyst that has resulted in humanity taking a break in figuring out its status at this time. 

Observing the calls for action mentioned in the paragraph above one can observe that many of the citizens of the globe were shepherded into a space of a sedentary lifestyle. A lifestyle that they have never been before only granted by firms such as "WeWork" had predicted the future of work, the future of academics. The idea of being in a flexible shared workspace for education, cooperation, even retail had to be fashioned in the spaces that allow the needs of the time. In such a case one can appropriate and appreciate the impact of the firm. That it had predicted the future a decade before the pandemic ever set foot unto humanity "they were ahead of the curve". The need to be in a comfortable space led many people to be woven themselves to become one with technology. 

One of the intrinsic intimate uses of artificial intelligence is "A.I." has brought families together, through the incorporation of various platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft workplace, Google meets, Skype among other platforms that are available for human use. In light of the pandemic and its devastating impact on many people's lives. Many families were being ripped apart due to the human harmful impacts of the Covid19 pandemic that has impacted the basic human need of human connection. The economic needs of bridging the financial gap between the affluent members of the community and their family members had been adversely impacted negatively by the virus due to the demands of staving off poverty from the family household. Therefore to some, greater extent families were affected through the economic needs of keeping the family together at the same time meeting the demands of work. 

Paying attention to the aggressive system that had imposed many families into involuntary servitude, where human beings were morphed into zombies, virtually becoming the walking dead. In a way, the virus came at a time where there was a need to reset the polarised communication within the nucleus family members. At the same time acknowledging that during this time period of the covid19 pandemic the reports and numbers of reported cases of gender-based violence resulted in women and children being subjected to violence from their intimate partners. Looking at the other side of the pandemic which to some another extent. The virus' impact on families was positive, it allowed the population to connect and appreciate the simple things that define humanity. It might be all glitz and glamourous that the human being is reconnecting with their other side that is their social side. However, as society hastily embraces the fourth industrial revolution "A.I." a glaring reality stares into the faces of many that is what can be termed as technological apartheid. The great rift between the haves and have nots has selfishly led to many people struggling to access education. In light of the progress and processes of embracing technology "A.I." there are a string of rhetorical questions that come to the fray, food for thought process for the reader, "Does humanity understand the intrinsic, intimate impact of this new normal, is humanity prepared to embrace the positives and negatives that come along with the new normal, is humanity prepared to embrace the terms and conditions that are coming along with technology?". The rhetorical questions are meant to evoke the reader to be part and parcel of this cross-examination of understanding the long haul that humanity is yoking itself to, it can be likened to a tactical nuclear bomb that is being detonated for the first time and no one understands completely the extent of the detonation the immediate and long term impacts of technology.  There is a hypothesis that can be submitted into this essay. The hypothesis is called, AfroRealism, "a state of being that seeks to break down the position of the African with the determination of figuring out how the African may-or can maneuver, navigate, comprehend at the same time adhering, acknowledging to the past, present and future. In order to understand Artificial Intelligence's position in the world one needs to take a glance at the word "access". The word sounds simple but it carries value and weight it is a matter of perspectives that have been apprehended and comprehended as they are expected to make sense. A simple word carries void, and meaning as the life of most people in the have nots bracket is cheap. As cheap as the life of a negro slave at a slave market in New Orleans on Black Friday. The rolling out and embracing of the A.I.  in this time and space one is brought to the fray and interrogate the integration of A.I. within the educational system it is imperative to probe its efficacy, vitality, and shortcomings in our parts of the globe. If we are to measure society against the sustainable development goal under the banner of education. 

"Education is for improving the lives of others"Marian Wright Edelman

Institutions of higher learning are gradually gravitating from being institutions of education, knowledge incubation, and problem-solving. To become enterprises that have solely focused on becoming centers of profit-making and assembly points where the machine "industry" salivates for the latest efficient model on the market for the system to perform exponentially without any need of upgrading it or forking out a lot of money to inhouse improvements. Therefore schools of thought in apprehending the means of production have been migrated to become spheres of profit-making other than knowledge and problem-solving centers. This is largely affected by the ever-diminishing financial support that centers of knowledge heavily rely upon the government to provide. As a means of protecting the culture of excellence, a capitalistic approach has been implemented just assure the quality of the same services. That the gatekeepers expect centers of higher learning are expected to be granted by any other organization. The persons that then should be direct beneficiaries are not seen as students or human beings, they are seen appreciated and acknowledged as another money-making guineapig that is meant to perpetuate and maintain the hard line of classicism amongst students. Institutions becoming enterprises has resulted rather molded rather morphed institutions into becoming assembly lines. Where their income generation is through knowledge manufactured, refined, packaged, condensed, commodified, knowledge or information where it has become a crucial, lucrative industry. Top brands and companies are willing to break their piggy banks for the research articles dished by institutions of higher learning which has been produced by the student that has slaved for more than a year to produce one body of work that is then sold off to the highest bidder. The harvesting of knowledge is precious, lucrative, and vital for the capitalistic industry to thrive. Understanding the reality of "the South African reality" the country is founded and on a capitalistic foundation. The architects of the ism had to pacify and eliminate all prospects that threatened the apparatus that was established and was designed only to serve a minority at the expense of the majority that is and was fashioned to be the worker and the elites are the brains of the system. This then is witnessed and translated to the cause and reality on the ground that many of the black community stay in defunct areas where there is no proper sanitation and an absence of basic service deliveries. While the key drivers "owners of the means of production" live in lavish barbed wired estates that are maintained by the architects of this merciless system. To safeguard their gains a few shares were parted away with in order to create a bottleneck system that creates a crab in the bucket system "we fight for the bread crumbs, while they feast on loaves of bread".

The one that does not have the means of access can only just imagine how it is like to have access to the means of production. Encapsulating the gross reality of the ones who have access to funds and resources without pussyfooting are the direct descendants of the already established apartheid system, then the "clever blacks" or "black bourgeoisie" are then incorporated into the system all in all for the benefit of the main chief architects to the system that has been designed to exploit, expropriate and diminish the value of the majority. The ones that have raised, and maintained the status quo. The black bourgeoisie might or might not be conscious of the realities that the black majority is experiencing. That they are failing to gain access to the much-commodified education because of financial difficulties based on their experiences as a group through a polarised fractured history of being black in South Africa. Thus one can note that education is gradually or has been gradually become an elitist opportunity to gain access to it.

To serve the "haves" systematically excluding the "have nots", the resulting impact on students due to the issues that revolve around access. The "have nots", end up being excluded from the commercialized, glamourized, and superficialized academic institutions. Due to the fact that some or many of the highly regarded institutions of higher learning that are embedded in their DNA to serve the minority they willingly ignore the plight of students "have nots". This then exposes the student to the harsh elements of the ever exploitative social environment, where a person's being is judged and weighed against what they materially own as compared to the potential that they have. In essence, if you are a negro the system does not give a damn about what you are going through all it wants is the money and you can come to school. If you are a negro go get the money paid and then come to school. Understanding the nature of an already inherited system means the psychology of administration best favors the fairer-skinned. This reasoning is based according to the history of many institutions that are founded along racial lines the same concept that was established with colonialism and whose effects are felt to this day through many apparatus that have been designed to acknowledge the existing disparities and they are expected to fulfill the established mandate that governs systems. 

"...there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women..." Thomas Isadore Sankara

Access to education is an integral, fundamental right for any person to be able to receive a basic education even to as far as higher tertiary education. Education at least equips the person with the necessary life skills of problem-solving and being able to solve their own problems where the subject has the skills to be able to come up with improvements that solve their respective social problems. In the era of the "Black Lives Matter Movement," it can be noted that the nation of black people is victims of a vindictive, passive-aggressive system. A world where Mandela is the one that speaks on your behalf for a student to be able to pursue their desired careers. Society arrives at a juncture where there is an imbalance in wealth globally versus the imbalance in the means of access to education. Which is the inception of the A.I. system where institutions of higher learning are using the tag as a marketing strategy to attract would-be stakeholders. Players that seek to be associated by the institutions of higher learning. Holistically embracing the facts of the matter. There should be change, there must be change, however, change that does not regard the rights of the other becomes a thorn of contention to the other that has been disadvantaged by the system itself. This then results in innumerable unwanted changes to people's lives, some changes are for the good and others are for the worst. The changes come at a cost, a heavy price that results in the diminishing of the rights of the other. The adoption and incorporation of the Online education system "Hybrid learning" come with a heavy price when it comes to the rights of the haves and have nots.  

In the light of the plight that has humanity has been tucked into by the rise of the virus. It is of thought concern to note that the ineptitude of today's economic great divide, has subjugated many into the doldrums inequality. Where a supposedly basic commodity has been catapulted to become an exclusive commodity, therefore, furthering the inequality hammering the negro community into the cesspool of underdevelopment due to the historical effects of systems such apartheid, colonialism, and systemic nepotism and corruption. A majority of black students rely heavily on bursaries and support from the state. In the wake of covid19 the global economy has shrunk this then means the local economy has further shrunk by a significant margin. Forcing companies to downsize, and liquidate some of their operations in order to stay afloat. Therefore the persons that solely rely on these initiatives are left in the cold to fend for themselves if not they are forced to drop out of school midway. The system on paper of accomodating A.I. into universities on one hand it is revolutionary a testament to the resilience that humanity has over anything that would be thrown at them. On the other hand, humanity has been taken ten steps backward in the wake of the deadly virus. Where subsidies for the have nots have been cut off, performance rates have been raised astronomically. If the student does not meet the criteria is then kicked out of the system. Again the system does not seem to acknowledge to investigate the circumstances that have adversely affected the student. As many or the majority of students come from rural areas and townships. Accessing a safe conducive environment that encourages academic performance becomes an Achilles heel for many black students that have been affected by this system. To some, an extent can be interpreted as a racist system for a majority that is facing the system are black as they are at the mercy of the elements. One such example would be the load-shedding crisis that rocked South Africa in the later parts of the year, the July 2021 Free Jacob Zuma protests that largely affected townships.

The global migration into embracing the A.I. is a welcome migration globally noting. Be that as it may in the third world country biosphere that is not the case. In such parts of the world, where they have created the first world, these parts are still as of yet to do away with systemic corruption, colonial inherited historical debts, offshore accounts holders, rigged trade deals, a porous legal fraternity, and inherited poverty. The above-signaled factors have an adverse on the lives of many students in failing to return to school the following year, due to a lack of financial support. At the same time shedding into light the student themselves does not have skills that they may capitalize on during their spare time in order to at least fund their education. If they do have such talents the market space is a polarised one that has resulted in most students being exploited by industry heads. 

The fourth industrial revolution and the academic rights of many students have come at a time when the student is shunned and not given the opportunity to advocate for themselves as the system has given the gatekeepers the leverage to ignore, disband and diminish the rights of students. In some cases citing quite trivial excuses that leave one scratching their inn confusion because the excuses submitted would leave a bitter taste in the mouth. The fourth industrial revolution once again raised the concerns of the apartheid system that in some thought that it is gone. In reality, it can be felt observed, and noticed through the A.I. world. Dating back to the apartheid era there were two types of education rather a parallel education was a system it has or it was designed to create persons that control the system and the persons that work for the system "the worker bees that keep the lights on".

A rigged system, reflecting back at the impacts of the system at hand one gets to acknowledge that a typical Bantu education system was formulated to create persons that were heavily dependent on the system to survive. In order to survive the capitalistic system that was designed by the forefathers and foremothers of the haves. The have nots' generation keeps the system alive and for the sake of surviving the same culture is enforced inculcated into a diminished horizon that only aspires to achieve not very much.

 "the negro child has been conditioned to understand that it only must aspire to have a piece of paper and then have a job, buy a house, have a car, get married, and live happily ever after. It is not allowed to dream, aspire, imagine. It can imagine but not too much it is made to believe that it can only become self-made through handouts. Handouts that diminish depreciate their value. Other than being told to dream, aspire have ambition, explore experiment and become whatever you want you to have the decision to become the person you desire to become. Your inner talents can help you to achieve whatever you want."

As institutions embrace the A.I. with its numb approach to educational administration the system is programmed with the coder that does not consider the aggressive impacts that the system carries. What one is suggesting before the fray is that there is ought to be a clear communication line between the ends, "the administration and the students". Humanity is being replaced by a synthetic eco-system that is manipulated and structured in accordance with how the haves understand how the global village is revolving towards its undisclosed destination. In one's observation, A.I. stands in accordance with the foundations of the one-per-cent of people that are pursuing the accumulation of wealth. At the expense of the many as they are insignificant to the cause and purpose they are mere pawns that must deliver all to the land of milk and honey "the one-per-cent". 

The introduction of the A.I. in the twenties era of the twenty-first century can juxtapose to the same era of the Christian crusades and colonization period. The haves understands that the psychological purging of states shall result in the regression of the colonized people. The parallel suggestion may be linked to the contemporary situation that society is going through the only difference is that to some extent it is not a race situation. It is a class situation, however, acknowledging that the pool of the haves is made up of descendants who are still reaping the efforts of their ancestors. The patriarchs and matriarchs devised, structured, and orchestrated a system that best benefits them because it is a space meant for them exclusively. The global village "third world states" are mere passengers in the system. In understanding the structure of this world one is brought to understand that the system is not meant for all. It is meant for some, It can be noted that when it comes to the administering of education to the masses parts of the tertiary spaces the great divide is understood through the lens of technology and how the haves have full access to the privileges offered by technology and the have nots have to go through hell, through Hades' layer, via the belly of the Brazen only to be told they are not good enough. Technology access needs to be investigated and sustainable means and ways have to be invested to safeguard the gains at the same time reaching out to the dark corners of society to at least provide access to education for all.

"Freedom is an indispensable condition for all progress and development" Anton Lembede