Abstract
The 2015-2016 populist student protests in South African universities sparked interest in the discourse of transformation of higher education. Students raised concerns, which included unequal access to higher education and the need to decolonise the curricula. This compelled the government and universities to re-imagine a shift from the adopted Eurocentric curriculum content and pedagogical practices to one which embraces social justice. Since then, academics, scholars, policy makers and researchers have been grappling with the demand to transform higher education pedagogical practices such as curriculum content, methods of teaching and the language of teaching and learning. Following the 2015-2016 student protests, the government promulgated policy frameworks and directives to guide transformation in higher education to foster the centring of Africa in curricula. Consequently, universities have been adopting multilingualism and the use of Indigenous languages as languages of teaching and learning, among other things, to promote equity and access, especially for students from marginalised backgrounds. This qualitative case study explored the views of ten purposively selected master's students in the education faculty on decolonisation of the language of teaching and learning at an open distance learning institution in South Africa. The study adopted a critical race theory. Data was collected using individual semi-structured face-to-face interviews and analysed thematically. Findings revealed that to decolonise the curricula and pedagogical practices, the institution should decentre Eurocentricism, and promote Indigenous languages, among other things. Findings also highlighted that the decolonisation project is not an overnight agenda; it will take time for it to be fully realised.