David Macfarlane
The University of Natal has been pressing ahead with plans to appoint a new vice-chancellor, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, despite Minister of Education Kader Asmal’s requests that institutions earmarked for merging refrain from making senior appointments.
Following months of turmoil at Unisa, another extraordinary, top-level university fiasco looks set to unfold. Makgoba, president of the Medical Research Council, is Natal University’s sole candidate for vice-chancellor. The university is earmarked for merging with the University of Durban-Westville.
The Mail & Guardian understands that a second candidate recently withdrew because of his misgivings over the propriety of competing for the appointment before the universities merger takes place.
Two factors in particular raise eyebrows over Natal University’s plans. Firstly, its homing-in on a new vice-chancellor overlaps with high-profile, heated dispute between Unisa and Asmal, centred on the distance education university’s appointment last year of Dr Barney Pityana as vice-chancellor.
Asmal had requested Unisa, Technikon SA and Vista University’s Distance Education Centre to refrain from making senior, long-term appointments pending the merger of the three institutions. His repeated argument was that taxpayers’ money would go down the drain in paying off senior personnel who failed to secure equivalent positions in the new mega-institution.
Secondly, Makgoba is one of the 11-member national working group appointed by Asmal in April last year to advise on specific mergers countrywide. He has therefore been in an unusually good position to know that Natal is lined up for merging with Durban-Westville, and to know in turn that his appointment to the vice-chancellorship could be of short duration. The working group released its recommendations this week.
A well-placed M&G source draws the propriety of Makgoba’s candidacy further into question by commenting that one of the referees in support of Makgoba’s candidacy has also been a member of the selection committee. Senior academics at other universities said this seemed highly irregular, and that a selection committee member who had refereed a candidate should recuse him/herself.
On Thursday morning, the M&G asked Natal University for comment. Two hours later the university’s head of communications and publicity, William Saunderson-Meyer, released this statement: “The University of Natal’s executive decided this morning that in the light of the changing circumstances brought about by the release [this week] of the national working group report into a possible merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville, as well as media interest in where this leaves the process of appointing a new vice-chancellor, the selection committee should be reconvened.
“The selection committee should consider whether it believes the process of appointing a new VC should continue and whether it should make a recommendation to council in this regard or seek the advice of council.”
Deputy Director General in the Department of Education Nasima Badsha said that Asmal has so far officially “only expressed views concerning senior appointments in relation to the two mergers formally on the table so far” namely the mergers of Unisa, TSA and Vudec, and ML Sultan Technikon and Technikon Natal.
“But we’d need to consider, as part of our response to this week’s national working group report, proposals about senior appointments for a transitional period,” Badsha said.
Makgoba’s previous experience of university management involved Wits University in probably the worst governance crisis of its history. As the university’s first black deputy vice-chancellor, he found himself accused in 1995 of mismanagement and falsifying his CV. His accusers the so-called Gang of 13, nearly all white were senior Wits academics, including several faculty deans.
Counter-attack was swift, as Makgoba accused the 13 of academic underperformance, nepotism and tax evasion allegations he supported with nuggets from personal files. Months of mudslinging followed, culminating in a partial backdown on both sides and Makgoba’s resignation.
He subsequently sprang to prominence as head of the Medical Research Council, where his outspoken stance on HIV/Aids has frequently brought him into conflict with the government. His intended departure from the council is believed to be partly related to this conflict.
Makgoba could not be reached for comment on Thursday.