/ 23 February 2014

HETN condemns NWU management over Nazi salute incident

Students at the institution doing Nazi salutes.
Students at the institution doing Nazi salutes.

The entire North West University (NWU) management needs to be urgently relieved of their duties, the Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) said on Sunday.

This follows reports that students at the province's university used the Nazi salute.

"We call on the minister of higher education to urgently appoint an administrator to take over the management of university," HETN spokesperson Hendrick Makaneta said in a statement.

Beeld newspaper reported on Friday that some students had used the Nazi "Sieg Heil" during an initiation ceremony.

Photographs were published by the newspaper showing groups of students at the institution doing Nazi salutes.

NW premier's response
"We are happy to be vindicated by the graphic evidences, which was initially published by the Beeld
newspaper … as we have been repeatedly asserting that there is … proliferation of racist practises taking place at the NWU Potchefstroom campus and in the workplace of the same institution."

North West Premier Thandi Modise on Saturday said the provincial government would monitor events at the Potchefstroom campus.

She said it was disturbing, because the incident demonstrated that segments of our young, white people were still vulnerable to ethnic and racial indoctrination. – Sapa