Facing state regulation of vice-chancellors’ often exorbitant pay and the hostile scrutiny of the next government, the body that represents university heads is taking urgent evasive action.
Higher Education South Africa (Hesa) has urged the chairs of university councils to start their own discussions about a ”fair framework” for remuneration.
A framework drawn up 14 years ago by Hesa’s predecessor, the South African Universities Vice-chancellors’ Association (SAUVCA), has been gathering dust despite numerous warnings.
University councils set V-C’s salary packages, which currently range between R1-million and R4-million.
The lack of a uniform mechanism has led to major discrepancies, with some underperforming institutions that rely heavily on state subsidies paying far higher salaries than those that rely on external funding and are top research producers.
The SAUVCA study, headed by former University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Mamphela Ramphele, outlined salary ranges and guidelines.
Some Hesa members did not accept it in its entirety, arguing that it ignored size, complexity and external revenue.
In an about turn Hesa is now urging councils to work with the document as a basis for self-regulation.
In circulars issued to universities it has invited chairs of councils or remuneration committees to a workshop on the issue.
It concedes that ”in some instances the chairs of council had not collectively engaged” with the 2005 study.
Hesa chair Theuns Eloff acknowledged that the body is trying to avoid government intervention. ”Self-regulation is not something we started with,” Eloff said. ”This is not a knee-jerk reaction or panic reaction but a natural flow from the Ramphele report.”
He said the plan is to have a coherent pay system but conceded that in the case of V-Cs who are earning way above the norm it ”would be difficult to come down”.
”The situation won’t change overnight. It will be a good thing for the image of universities and self-regulation. But I don’t think we could move to a position where all vice-chancellors get the same.”
The M&G revealed last year that Mangosuthu University of Technology’s suspended vice-chancellor, Aaron Ndlovu, received a R3,68-million package in 2007, making him South Africa’s highest-paid civil servant.
MUT had expenses of R257-million in 2007 and revenue of R253-million, R115-million of it from the state.
It is South Africa’s worst research producer and Ndlovu is under investigation.
Pandor told the M&G that her department ”will be part of that [Hesa] meeting. I hope the chairs of council will look at the Ramphele report.” She said she will raise the issue in a meeting with chairs of councils ”in April, just before the elections”.