Wits University’s new policy of imposing a 10% levy on the income earned by academics for private work could benefit them, said Aubrey Blecher of the Wits Academic Staff Association this week.
Blecher said having a large institution such as Wits at their side, rather than trying to negotiate as individuals with the corporate world, could work to the advantage of academics.
However, he conceded that there had been a “mixed reaction” to the policy. While some welcomed it, others opposed it on the grounds that “intellectual property belongs to an individual, and not to the institution he or she works for”.
Among other concerns raised by academics were slow-moving bureaucracy at Wits and the fact that they were required to fill in too many forms.
However, Blecher stressed that the university had made concessions — for example, it would not impose a levy on income of less than R60 000 a year.
He added that when the system came up for review next year, one of the criteria used in assessing it would be whether it had increased the earnings of individual staff members.
Belinda Bozzoli, head of research at the university, insisted that academics would not have to deal with university bureaucracy “as we have set up a private company, Wits Enterprise, to deal with this”.
Bozzoli described the policy as “an elaboration of international best practice”.