Higher education re-imagining in South Africa primarily focuses on educating students to be responsible citizens. The National Plan for Higher Education (2001) aims in the first instance at cultivating in students the capacity to deliberate respectfully with one another in order to become responsible citizens. This article argues that deliberation and respect are necessary but not sufficient conditions to foster a sense of responsible citizenship. Students also need to be taught to develop the quality that Nussbaum (2001) refers to as "compassionate citizenship".