Resilience in Academia: Sheetal Bhoola's Call for Change
Image: Supplied
With her deep roots and alignment to academia, Sheetal Bhoola has made it her ambition to impact knowledge in young minds.
Bhoola, who is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Zululand's Department of Sociology, has a love for teaching that spans over 20 years at various tertiary institutions.
Having started out with a diploma in Journalism, she holds two Master of Arts degrees, one of which is a unique co-badged qualification from three esteemed universities across Germany, India, and South Africa.
Her second MA qualification from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is in Industrial Organisational and Labour Studies, coupled with a PhD that she completed, a year later in 2015.
She then moved on to complete her seventh academic qualification in 2024, a Post Graduate Diploma (2 years) in Higher Education, specialising in teaching and learning.
Bhoola is not only an accomplished teacher but also a writer. Her academic writing spans more than one research area, with penned works on subjects such as social cohesion in South African food studies, insecurities, malnutrition in children, and the Indian diaspora.
She is also the director of a maths and English tuition centre in Sunningdale Durban (StellarMaths).
The mother of one from Umhlanga, whose decision to join the world of academia was motivated by her passion for education, aims to grow her capacity to teach and engage with curriculum and research.
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Given her daily workload, Bhoola swears by the importance of having good organisational skills. 'Juggling work and family duties is based on good time management. I start my day earlier than most. I wake at around 3:30 am most days to write and do research work,' she shares.
Being "authentically herself" and encouraging others to be bold and strong as African women are what Bhoola rates as important tools on her life's journey thus far.
'I've accepted the double challenge of being a woman and of colour, and the force it requires to have an impact and influence people to reach their full potential in life,' she explains.
Bhoola acknowledged that it has not been easy to make her mark as a woman of colour at various institutions. Securing permanent employment and landing promotions were no shoo-in. 'Landing a professorship is a major challenge.
I have experienced how universities can have a precarious way about employment. They can employ you for years on a contractual basis knowing fully well that they require your services, but they don't see it as necessary to award you with a permanent position.
That hinders your growth trajectory substantially because, without promotions, your chances of securing benefits that other academics enjoy are stifled.'
One of the on-the-job teaching challenges Bhoola faces is making do with limited resources. To help her students, many of whom come from financially challenged homes, she often records her lectures to accommodate those who are unable to attend classes on days when the weather is poor or when unforeseen circumstances arise.
On the issue of Gender-Based Violence, Bhoola states that it is a huge problem in desperate need of solutions to protect women.
'We come from a background that is basically convoluted with patriarchal culture, historical violence, and dire socio-economic circumstances, all of which have been brought about by the apartheid system.'
She advises that citizens need to be proactive and stand up against GBV. 'Women themselves need to be far more aware and far more engaged with the plight of other women to make a difference.'
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