Pretoria | Thursday
THE University of South Africa on Wednesday took its court action against a merger with two other institutions a step further, although the Unisa council is still considering whether or not to finally go ahead with the hearing, set for next Tuesday.
Legal counsel for Unisa brought an application in the Pretoria High Court to cite as further respondents in the case the other two institutions –Technikon SA and Vista University (whose distance education campus will form part of the Open Learning University of SA or Olusa).
At first only Education Minister Kader Asmal was cited as a respondent. The application was not opposed and Judge Eberhardt Bertelsmann granted it.
By late afternoon the Unisa council had still not decided whether or not to accept an offer by Asmal that he would postpone the merger on condition that Unisa withdrew the court application.
Negotiations with Education Department officials were still continuing, said Unisa representative Doreen Gough.
Joe Nalane, Unisa’s attorney, said he had not received any new instructions from his client yet and was continuing with the original instructions, namely to apply for the decision about the merger to be set aside.
”I act on instructions. Until I get new instructions, I go ahead with the original instructions,” he said.
Asmal indicated in November last year that the three distance education institutions would merge from February 1. Late last month, Unisa filed an application for this decision to be set aside, citing legal and procedural flaws.
On January 4, the minister gazetted the merger date as February 1. He also named the members of the interim Olusa council. No Unisa members were included, as the university had not nominated any, he said.
On Monday, however, Asmal offered to postpone the merger until April 1 and to give Unisa a further opportunity to nominate interim council members, if it dropped the court application.
He said his department was meanwhile preparing its defence in case the application went ahead.
Unisa representative Laurika Olwagen earlier on Wednesday said that the interim council was not the only matter of concern for the university.
”There are other matters that Unisa would want to bring to the department’s attention.”
In court papers, Unisa council chairman McCaps Motimele said the effect of the merger and the establishment of an interim council for Olusa would mean the immediate demise of Unisa and, probably, all its governance structures such as its council, senate and student representative council.
Motimele averred that the proposed merger was unlawful, because Asmal did not have the power in terms of the Higher Education Act to decide on the date of the merger and name of the new merged institution. Unisa was also not given proper notice of the proposed merger, he added.
He said the proposed merger — which the council felt would take two years or more to plan — would require proper consultations with all interested parties.
”To suggest that the council should merely ‘inform’ its employees of the proposed merger shows a remarkable lack of understanding of sound labour relations especially where… many employees will be retrenched or prejudicially affected as a direct result of such a merger.”
Motimele claimed Asmal’s decision to merge Unisa with the other two institutions was unreasonable, failed to comply with the requirements of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act and was taken arbitrarily and in bad faith.
He claimed that Asmal displayed a ”demeaning, condescending and disrespectful attitude” towards council members. – Sapa
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