Abstract:
This article is about the 2nd half (50 years) of the centenary of the Nederduitsch Hervormde
Kerk van Afrika (NHKA) at the University of Pretoria (UP). The NHKA was the first church
to join the Faculty of Theology at UP in 1917. The previous article ‘Hervormde footprints on
the Tukkie campus – a chronicle of the first fifty years’ contains the humble beginnings, the
steady growth, the political background during the apartheid years, and the NHKA’s role in
justifying apartheid. The 70s and the 80s was a flourishing time for the Church with a steady
growth in membership, an increase in the number of lecturers and students, and more or less
enough money to sustain theology education at UP. During the nineties there was a decrease
in membership numbers with the pivot point in 1992: from thereon there was a steady
decline which was accelerated by the church schism in 2011 and onward. The two Sections
of the NHKA and the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK), Section A and B, became one
in 2000. The Reformed Theology College (RTC), with the aim of church specific education for
students of the NHKA, was also established in 2000 with prof. T.F.J. Dreyer as the first head.
In November 2015 a student protest action #FeesMustFall rocked the foundation of higher
education in South Africa. The issue of language and curriculum as aftermath of the protest
actions was also at stake during 2016. During 2017 the centennial celebration of the Faculty
of Theology at UP will take place. It coincides with REFO 500 – the commemoration of 500
years of the Reformation.
