Vusi Mona and Joshua Amupadhi
GOVERNMENT proposals to give itself swifter powers to intervene on crisis-hit campuses are likely to face a rough ride from universities and technikons.
The plans – part of the Ministry of Education’s Green Paper approved by Cabinet on Wednesday – follow a spate of campus upheavals, in which state intervention has been largely confined to commissions of inquiry.
Minister of Education Sibusiso Bengu is calling for an independent assessor who would be his ”rapid reaction instrument”, officials say, in cases involving corruption and violence.
The proposal was not among the recommendations of the National Commission on Higher Education – the basis for the Green Paper.
The tertiary education sector, which jealously guards its autonomy, says the plan has been sprung on it, the rules are unclear and ministerial intervention could be a recipe for disaster.
Committee of University Principals acting chief executive Dr Johan Brink says the sector does not welcome the ministry’s proposals. ”If it is argued that universities cannot solve their problems and so need an independent assessor, such a person would need to be a superman.”
Dr Nasima Badsha, personal assistant to University of Cape Town vice-chancellor and principal Dr Mamphela Ramphele, says UCT would prefer exhausting its internal mechanisms, rather than using an outsider.
Rhodes University vice-chancellor David Woods says the proposal would ultimately leave South African higher education no better than its peers across Africa ”where presidents appoint the vice-chancellor”.
The Green Paper will go through a consultation period until next March. The ministry plans to present a higher education Bill to Parliament later next year.
l The Commission of Inquiry appointed in June to probe the ongoing conflict at the University of Durban-Westville has cost taxpayers nearly R1,4-million to date, with more than 80% of costs accounting for payments to two commissioners, the Department of Education said this week.
President Nelson Mandela appointed the commission following a clash between supporters and opponents of former Azapo president Itumeleng Mosala’s application for the rectorship.