The Rixaka Heritage Forum in Limpopo says the move to construct a Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) campus in Giyani is long overdue and it did not hijack the idea from the Bapedi royal family.
The advocacy organisation told Sunday World this week that the idea of building an institution of higher learning campus in Giyani goes back to the early 2000s when former
minister of education Kader Asmal declared Giyani College of Education a subdivision of the University of Venda.
Last week Sunday World reported that the Bapedi Royal Kingdom pointed a finger at TUT principal and vice-chancellor Professor Tinyiko Maluleke, accusing him of hijacking the idea to build a campus in their area.
A senior member of the royal council, Mampuru, accused Prof Maluleke of hijacking the project despite the signing of a memorandum of understanding in 2021, directing it to
Giyani, where he hails from.
This week Rixaka Heritage Foundation spokesperson Joshua Maluleke said by 2010, the Khatsani Education Foundation had made representations to government to revisit the idea of opening a university campus in Giyani to replace both the defunct University of Gazankulu and the dysfunctional section of the University of Venda.
Maluleke said in 2021, the foundation and the Royal Leaders Union joined hands to further lobby the government.
According to Maluleke, the National Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) under then minister Blade Nzimande agreed to carry the project forward.
“Meetings were then held between the DHET and TUT to establish the Giyani Campus and site visits were made to assess the facility. At that stage, Professor Lourens van
Staden led the process as the vice-chancellor of TUT.”
He said he was aware that the Bapedi Royal Kingdom in Sekhukhune was also waiting for the construction of a TUT campus in their region.
“[Prof Tinyiko] Maluleke had no association with the university whatsoever at the time. By the time Prof Maluleke joined TUT as vice chancellor in 2022, the decision to establish a university campus in Giyani was ready for announcement. Indeed, in July 2022, minister Ndzimande went to Giyani to publicly announce the decision of his ministry to establish a campus in Giyani.”
However, Mampuru warned that if the matter was not handled properly, it had the potential to cause a serous rift between the two Limpopo communities.
