The National Tertiary Education Staff Union (NTESU) at the University of Transkei (Unitra) vowed to fight for the survival of the university on Thursday.
”NTESU firmly supports the university’s contention that it is able to exist as an independent institution of higher learning in the region,” said the union in a statement.
The union feels that Unitra has a role to play by specialising in rural development, science and technology.
”NTESU continues to question the rationale and criteria behind the minister’s (Kader Asmal) decisions regarding Unitra.”
The union claimed that there was ”no clear logic” in incorporating Unitra’s medical school into the University of Fort Hare (UFH).
”The UFH, we believe, is capable of surviving as an independent entity based on its proud political legacy. It certainly does not require the acquisition of a Medical School to make it more relevant to the region or the country, for that matter.”
The union said that Asmal should have realised that the medical school was part of the broader faculty of Health Sciences at Unitra and did not operate independently from the rest of the university.
” Unitra has over the years adapted in an effort to meet the needs and further the empowerment of the communities that surround the University.” NTESU said Asmal was ”ignoring the trauma” caused by his ”continuous threats of closure. It is extremely demoralising to be continuously under threat of extinction and still be expected to function normally in a situation that is abnormal.”
”NTESU will continue to fight for the survival of the University of Transkei. We believe that the minister has failed to acknowledge Unitra’s efforts to stabilise and progress.” – Sapa