Vista University is considering legal action against the minister of education — a move that could derail the massive national tertiary merger process due to take effect in three months.
The Mail & Guardian has copies of correspondence between Minister of Education Kader Asmal, acting Vista vice-chancellor Professor Sipho Seepe and the chairperson of the university’s merger task team, Ignatius Molapo. Dating from July, and referring to interactions between the university and the ministry during the past two years, the correspondence demonstrates that the parties still cannot agree on crucial merger plans.
Vista accuses Asmal and the national Department of Education in writing of a ”clear and unacceptable abdication of responsibility” concerning legal and other matters intrinsic to the university’s imminent demise.
Asmal told the Mail & Guardian that Vista ”has continually delayed the collation and provision of information” that is ”required to inform the incorporation process”.
In the meantime, the employment futures of 147 staff at Vista’s central campus in Pretoria remain uncertain.
And mergers of 12 other tertiary institutions, all involved in taking over Vista’s campuses in their entirety, are at risk as well. Seepe told the M&G this week: ”The success of the whole national plan for higher education depends on Vista. If planning for Vista fails, 50% of the mergers fail.”
Asmal said: ”There are in total 11 mergers/incorporations in process. The dissolution of Vista University is but one of the 11. This hardly constitutes 50% of the mergers/incorporations.”
Since the Council for Higher Education’s ”size and shape” report in 2000, Vista has been destined for oblivion. Established in 1982, with a central campus in Pretoria and eight campuses in three provinces, it has 20 000 students.
Four mergers and nine incorporations (seven involving Vista) take effect from January. Another six mergers are due to proceed in January 2005.
But much of this process could be stalled if Vista takes legal action. ”We have been trying to avoid going to court,” Seepe said. ”But I’m telling Vista staff: you have rights, protected by law, that it’s not up to the minister of education to take away. It’s a miracle that staff have not yet gone on strike.”
Asmal said he is ”not aware … of any pending legal action by Vista University”.
A major sticking point between Vista and Asmal is the minister’s failure so far to settle categorically on, and to announce, a legal successor to Vista’s central campus, Seepe said.
In the case of all merging institutions the matter is clear: the legal successor will be the new (and newly named) institutions. In the case of incorporations, the legal successor will be the ”receiving” institution — the University of Pretoria, for example, after it incorporates Vista’s Mamelodi campus.
Legal succession is critical — tertiary institutions are empowered by legislation to govern, make appointments, and award qualifications.
On Monday Seepe wrote to Asmal: ”From the moment it was announced in 2001, the National Plan for Higher Education was incomplete, inadequate and flawed in that it did not provide equal treatment to all staff members at Vista University … The psychological trauma visited on these members is incalculable.”
Asmal told the M&G his preferred option for the legal successor is the new institution to be formed through the merger of Unisa, Technikon SA (TSA) and Vista’s distance education centre (Vudec). But at a meeting in August with the three institutions, Unisa and TSA said ”no decision could be made until they had a clearer understanding of the administrative, financial and legal implications” of being the legal successor.
The appointment of auditors PriceWaterhouse Coopers to ”undertake the necessary investigations” was ”not accepted” by Vista’s council. Asmal said: ”It seems that the council wanted the minister to gazette the legal successor.”
Given this, ”it should be clear that the ministry has not abdicated responsibility as suggested”, Asmal said. ”The ministry has since early this year been discussing with Vista University the need to collate the information that is required to inform the incorporation process, including the legal successor.
”However, while agreeing that the information was necessary, Vista University has continually delayed the collation and provision of the information. This has led to endless frustration on the part of the receiving institutions …”
In July, the chairperson of Vista’s merger task team, Ignatius Molapo, wrote to Asmal, asking that the minister ”make a satisfactory declaration of his intentions” regarding central campus staff, ”or we shall have no other option but to engage in industrial and political action”.
Asmal responded to Molapo in August, saying ”processes are currently under way … However, I do not take kindly to demands and threats that serve little purpose. I hope you will instead channel your concerns through legitimate institutional processes.”
Vista has now transferred all its central campus staff to Vudec. Seepe’s letter to Asmal on Monday informs the minister of this move. ”This is a matter that the ministry will have to take up with Vista’s council,” Nasima Badsha, deputy director general in the education department told the M&G.