CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1. Introduction Like all higher education institutions in South Africa, the University of
Zululand is
semi-autonomous in that it receives a portion of its funding from the state,
students fees and stakeholders. Through its activities, the university generates
large volumes of physical and electronic data and documents on a daily basis.
These documents and data are important and need to be preserved. Universities,
like other semi-government or government institutions, are legally bound to
retain and preserve documents as a record of their activities and proceedings.
The study was prompted by the fact that in South Africa, government departments
and universities are required by law to adopt a systematic and organised approach
to the management of records. For example, the National Archives and Records
Service of South Africa Act (Act No. 43 of 1996) provides the legislative and legal
framework according to which records management practices in governmental
bodies are regulated. In accordance with section 13 of the National Archives and
Records Service of South Africa Act, 1996, the National Archivist:
(i) Determines classification systems to be applied by governmental bodies;
(ii) Examines public records with a view to issuing disposal authorities on all
public records to enable governmental bodies to dispose of records no longer
required for functional purposes;
(iii) Determines the conditions subject to which records can be microfilmed or
electronically reproduced to ensure that the requirements for archival
preservation are addressed timeously; (iv) Determines the conditions subject to
which electronic records systems should be managed to ensure that sound records
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management practices are applied to electronic records systems from the design
phase onwards;
(v) Inspects public records to ensure that governmental bodies comply with the
requirements of the National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act;
(vi)Issues directives and instructions for the management and care of public

records in the custody of governmental bodies; and

(vii) Provides training to records managers, senior administrative officials, training
officials, work study officials and registry heads with a view to teaching the basics
of records management and explaining the National Archives and Records
Service's role in promoting efficient records management.
The focus of this study was the status of records management at the University of
Zululand.
1.1 Conceptual setting The research project covered the following themes as stated
below;
a) The Records Life Cycle
b) The Records Continuum Model
c) The South African Records Management Model
d) Records and its characteristics
e) Records Management
f) The Management of Records
g) Related Literature
1.1.1 Defining a record Records contain information that is a valuable resource and
an important business
asset. A systematic approach to the management of records is essential for
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organizations to protect and preserve records as evidence of activities and
transactions. The University of Pretoria (2010:n.p) states that a record is
information that is recorded in any form; created or received routinely in the
course of the universitys business or correspondence; and retained by the
university as evidence of such activity. The International Standards Organization
[ISO 15489] (2001:3) defines a record as: Information created, received, and
maintained as evidence and information by an organization or person, in
pursuance of legal obligations or in transaction of business.
The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (2005:n.p.) supports by
defining a record as recorded information, in any form, created or received and
maintained in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business and

kept as evidence of such activity. The University of Manchester (2010:n.p)

concurs that a record is any piece of recorded information that is produced,
received or kept by the university as part of its business processes and which
provides evidence of a specific activity can be defined as a record. The University
of South Africa (2007:1) likewise defines a record as recorded information,
regardless of format or medium, which has been created, received, used, accessed
and maintained by the university at large (and/or by its predecessors) as evidence
and information in pursuance of its legal obligations or in the transaction of
business, and this includes e-mails, records in electronic form, and records other
than correspondence.
A record is therefore any recorded information that is created, received and
maintained as evidence of what happened and when it happened in pursuance of
legal and regulatory obligations, regardless of the format in which it was created as
stated by the University of South Africa.Records can either be electronic (e.g.
emails, internet content, documents, databases, digitally recorded images, etc.) or
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physical/printed (any information that is paper-based, e.g. books, newsletters,
etc.).
1.1.2 Defining records management The National Archives and Records Service of
South Africa (2009:n.p) defines
records management as the management of information resources in a manner
that makes information easily accessible, securely protected and stored, and
correctly disposed of when necessary. Thus records management controls and
oversees the creation, maintenance, use and disposal of records. Records
management is the process by which internally or externally generated physical or
electronic records are managed from their inception, receipt and storage, all the
way through to their disposal Ngulube (2000:164); Wallace (1987:2); Yusuf &
Chell (1999:10). Place and Hyslop (1982:4) summarize records management as the
process of controlling information from creation through to its final disposition.
Records management therefore seeks to efficiently and systematically control the

lifecycle (creation, use, maintenance, archive or disposal) of records that are

routinely generated as a result of activities and transactions. This means that
records management is also based on the principles of regular review and
controlled retention or destruction with the general aim of ensuring cost-effective
business processes, legal and regulatory compliance, and corporate accountability.
According to Chinyemba and Ngulube (2005:n.p.) Proper records management
involves establishing systematic controls at every stage of the records lifecycle in
accordance with established principles and accepted models of records
management. This therefore means that practicing proper records management
leads to good management because a universitys activities are based on access to
the information contained in records.
The International Standard Organisation (ISO15489-1) provides a framework for
records management in terms of identifying the regulatory operations of an
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organization and how responsibilities for records management are allocated. The
IRMT (1999b) stated that records management was that area of general
administrative management concerned with achieving economy and efficiency in
the creation, maintenance, use and disposal of the records of an organisation
throughout their entire life-cycle and in making the information they contain
available in support of the business of that organisation.
The IRMT (1999b) definition emphasized the need for efficiency and economy in
recordkeeping and records management activities took place within the records
life-cycle context. The ISO 15489 Standard on Records Management (2001)
defines records management as the field of management responsible for the
efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and
disposition of records, including the processes for capturing and maintaining
evidence of and information about business activities and transactions in the form
of records. The definition contextualises records management within the records
life-cycle concept and emphasizes the evidential nature of records.
Records management in overall aims at underpinning an organizations efficiency,

effectiveness and good governance. Efficient record management provides the

basis for accountability, protection of rights and entitlements, anti-corruption
strategies, poverty reduction and effective management of resources. Competent
recordkeeping is the key to attainment of university vision and mission namely;
teaching, research, consultancy, innovation, enterprise and services to the
community.
1.2 Contextual setting The University of Zululand was established in 1960 as a fullyfledged university
and graduated into a comprehensive institution of higher learning in 2004
(University of Zululand website, 2010:n.p). A comprehensive institution is a
public institution that is highly diversified, from acting as a research institution to
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teaching the liberal arts. The university is currently the only such institution in
the KwaZulu-Natal province. The university has two campuses, the main campus
situated in Kwa-Dlangezwa, and the satellite campus of Richards Bay which is
based in the port city of the same name (30km to the east). During the mergers of
2004, institutions of higher learning were transformed and re-structured through a
proposal released by the then Ministry of Education. The number of universities
and technikons was reduced from 35 to 23, with six (6) comprehensive
institutions, eleven (11) conventional institutions, and five (5) universities of
technology. Prior to this, the University of Zululand had a satellite campus in
Umlazi in Durban. The Durban-Umlazi Campus (DUC), as it became known, was
transferred to the Durban University of Technology (DUT) in 2004 University of
Zululand website (2010, n.p.).
The vision and mission of the University of Zululand is to:
Provide students from diverse backgrounds with access to an enabling and
caring learning and teaching environment;
Offer relevant programmes that are responsive to the development needs of
society; and
Generate knowledge through research and disseminate this knowledge

through publications, teaching, and development in partnership with the

community.
Both academic and non-academic departments generate records at the University
of Zululand. The academic section consists of four faculties, namely Arts,
Education, Science and Agriculture, and Commerce, Administration and Law.
These four (4) faculties have a total of 51 departments. 21 departments in the Arts,
7 in Education, 15 in Science and Agriculture, and 8 in Commerce, Administration
and Law.
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1.3 Statement of the problem Records are a vital asset in ensuring that the
institution is governed effectively and
efficiently, and is accountable to its staff, students and the community that it
serves. Records support decision-making, organize documents, provide evidence of
policies, decisions, transactions and activities, and support the university in cases
of litigation. Searching for a document or record that cannot be easily retrieved is
one problem that affects many organizations and also consumes time for the
individual searching for that particular document. Wamukoya and Mutula (2005)
state that, poor records management is guaranteed to result in information gaps
that lead to inadequate records and the loss of document heritage. On the other
hand, proper records management plays a vital role in making sure that records
are kept in a favorable environment and can be retrieved easily and anytime.
Without proper records management, it is very difficult to account for any
decision taken. Fraud and dishonesty cannot be easily spotted and be dealt with
accordingly if there is no recorded proof. In the case of the University of Zululand,
the researcher has observed that there is a challenge in the management of records
such that it is not clear how records are managed both physical and electronic.
Furthermore there have been many instances whereby records were reported to
be misplaced or missing thus raising questions as to what kinds of records are kept
by the University of Zululand; how are records managed, what system and policies
are used in terms of records management at the University of Zululand? These

questions motivated the researcher to research on the status of records

management at the University of Zululand since there is no reference of any study
that has been done in regard to records management at the University of
Zululand.
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1.4 Aim of the study The aim of the study was to investigate the status of records
management at the
University of Zululand and propose recommendations to enhance records
management at the intended institution and other institutions if need be.
1.5 Objectives of the study a) To determine what types of records are kept in the
records management system
b) To find out whether the University of Zululand has a formal records
management system besides the Integrated Tertiary Software (ITS), which is not a
records management system but an Enterprise Resource Management Program.
c) To determine whether or not the university has a formal policy, procedures
and/or filing system for records
d) To find out if the policy (if it exists) and the procedures forms part of the
universitys regulatory structures
e) To find out whether or not the policy (if it exists) and the procedures complies
with the governments records management regulations
1.6 Research questions The research questions of the study were as follows: a)
What types of records are kept in the records management system? b) Does the
University of Zululand have a formal records management system
besides the Integrated Tertiary Software (ITS), which is not a records
management system but an Enterprise Resource Management Program? c) Does
the university have a formal policy and procedure for managing its
records? d) Does the policy (if it exists) and procedures form part of the universitys
regulatory structures? e) Does the policy (if it exists) and procedures comply with
the governments
records management regulations?
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1.7 Significance of the study The study is deemed to be significant to the University
of Zululand because it
provides a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of
records management and demonstrates the shortcomings of current recordkeeping
practices at the university. Ngulube (2003:21) states that, Research into records
management trends and practices can lead to a better understanding of records
management problems and challenges, as well as providing solutions to what is to
be done, and how resources should be used. Moreover, if the recommendations of
the study are implemented, they are likely to lead to the improvement of records
management practices and also serve as a catalyst for the modification and
formulation of records management strategies and policies in the University of
Zululand and in other institutions that face similar problems.
1.8 Scope and limitations of the study Bak (2004:23) states that all research
projects need to have a starting and end
point. These necessarily mean that one set distinct boundaries to orient readers
and make the study manageable. A research proposal need to demonstrate that one
had been able to demarcate or delimit the study. The scope of the study was
limited to an examination/ investigation into the status of records management at
the University of Zululand Kwa-Dlangezwa Campus. The study looked at records
that are generated by the university in both the administrative section and
academic departments. The research used quantitative research method. The study
used a survey method to assess the status of records management at Unizulu.
Purposive sampling was used with a sampling frame of twenty four administrative
staff and twenty six academic heads of department.
1.9. Methodology The study used the survey research method to determine the
status of records
management at the University of Zululand. Questionnaires were used as primary
data collection instruments. The study targeted both administrative and academic
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(Heads of Departments) employees at the University of Zululand. Purposive
sampling was used to select 26 academic Heads of Departments and 24

administrative employees, producing a total of 50 respondents.

1.10 Outline of the dissertation This dissertation is divided into six chapters as
stated below;
Chapter one
This chapter provides the introduction, conceptual and contextual settings,
statement of the problem, aim and objectives of the study, research questions,
significance of the study, literature review approaches.The chapter was vital, as it
set the foundation for other chapters, by narrowing down the issues to be
investigated.
Chapter two
This chapter used books, journal articles, government publications, and internet
sources. It thus provides a literature review of records management, in particular
its status, development, benefits and types. The Records Life Cycle model, South
African Records Management model, and Mckemmish Records Continuum model
are also discussed in this chapter.
Chapter three
Chapter three focuses on how the research was carried out and covers the research
methodology, research method(s), target population, instruments of data
collection, data collection techniques and procedures, and data analysis.
Chapter four
Chapter four presents and analyzes data that was collected from the questionnaires
that were distributed to employees at the University of Zululand.
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Chapter five
This chapter discusses and extrapolates on the research findings in chapter four.
Chapter six
Provides the summary, conclusion and recommendations based on the findings of
the study.
1.11 Ethical considerations/issues Ethical considerations refer to moral and ethical
standards that should be followed
in circumstances where there can be authentic or possible harm to an individual

or a group, (Churchill 1992:68). Variables that form the basis of ethics include
honesty, integrity, courtesy, and consideration. Ethics is a rational effort to
systematize the rules, principles and ideas to which people appeal in justifying
actions as right and their moral characters as good (Tong 1997:9). Ethics provides a
number of methodical tools and action guides with which to pursue individual and
collective goals "rightly", whether these goals were minimalist ones, such as
personal survival, or maximalistic ones such as universal love.
Ethical issues in research revolve around the researcher's accountability and
privacy, anonymity and confidentiality of participants (Grbich 2004:88). One of
the key ethical problems that face researchers in institutions of higher learning is
that of plagiarism, which is a great scourge. While the potential for plagiarism and
other forms of malpractice had always been endemic to academia, the electronic
age had given rise to unprecedented levels of abuse (Vadilevu 2004;
Loughram2004; Bolowana 2005; Pearce 2005). Legal and ethical issues pertaining
to this study were adhered to.
1.12 Definition of terms Adequate Records Management Standard a standard that
outlines the outcomes
for an adequate records management regime, which agencies need to satisfy if
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their records management programs are to be considered adequate in accordance
with section 16 of the State Records Act.
Electronic records: records that are in machine-readable form. They may be any
combination of text, data, graphics, images, video, audio, e-mail, internet content,
documents, spreadsheets, databases, etc., that are created, maintained, modified
or
transmitted in digital form by a computer or related system, (Government of South
Africa 2006:1-5).
Integrated Tertiary Software (ITS):the ITS system is varyingly described as an
Enterprise Resource Management Program or an Enterprise Resource Planning
Management (ERPM) system that specializes in the provision of integrated
software to support the administrative functions within the higher education and

training sectors, (Integrated Tertiary Software 2005)

Preservation: Refers to the totality of processes and operations involved in the
stabilization and protection of documents against damage or deterioration and in
the treatment of damaged or deteriorated documents.
Records: Information created, received, and maintained as evidence and
information by an organization or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in
transaction of business (ISO 15489 2001:3)
Records management: Records management is the process by which internally or
externally generated physical or electronic records are managed from their
inception, receipt and storage, all the way through to their disposal (Ngulube
2000:164)
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Recordkeeping: an integral part of records management that involves making and
maintaining accurate and reliable evidence of business transactions in the form of
recorded information (Yusuf & Chell1999:10)
Records creation and capturing: records creation and capturing involves
developing consistent rules to ensure integrity and accessibility, deciding on
systems to log and track records, and following specific procedures for registering,
classifying and indexing (Yusuf & Chell1999:10)
1.13 Summary This chapter reviewed the concepts of records and records
management at the
University of Zululand. The aim, problem statement, objectives, research
questions, significance and ethical issues were discussed in this chapter. The
parameters of the study - scope and limitations - were also highlighted in this
chapter. The next chapter provides an overview of literature on records
management.