As turmoil between the University of Limpopo (UL) and Minister of Higher Education and Training Pamela Nkabane continues to brew, the institution has threatened legal action against the government if its demands are not met.
In a letter dated December 4, 2024, addressed to the minister from the chair of the university’s council Pandelani Nefolovhodwe, he demands that Nkabane apologise for her statement about employing an independent assessor to investigate the university. He also wants the minister to apologise in writing to the university’s council within seven days for the reputational damage her statements caused the institution.
The university believes that the appointment of an assessor is without any legal basis and cannot pass a “stringent legal scrutiny” as the department has flouted processes and skipped the consultative work required by law.
“Failure to abide by this request above will leave the council with no option but to make an application to the high court to determine whether the minister has exercised her powers
afforded by section 44 of the [Higher Education] Act [101 of 1997], validly and/or in a manner that could have been expected of the reasonable decision-maker. In such an application, we will engage on the minister’s decision based on procedural and on substantive grounds,” the letter reads.
This comes after the Parliamentary Committee on Basic Education recommended that the higher education minister appoint an independent assessor to investigate the state of the institution. The institution appeared before Parliament’s committee two weeks ago.
In a letter sent to the minister by committee head Tebogo Letsie, he highlights the areas of concern that the assessor will have to probe.
The committee raises issue with the vice-chancellor (VC) of the university Mahlo
Mokgalong serving in his position longer than the term provided for in terms of the
institutional statute.
Letsie does not believe that the institution has shown any urgency in recruiting a new VC when the term of the incumbent was coming to an end. “The council failed to uphold and protect the institutional statute of the university by appointing the current council chairperson for more than legislated terms, thus transgressing the statute of the university,” the letter reads.
The university’s chairperson of the institutional forum is said to be occupying her
position without a formal appointment, while the council rejected the nomination of one ministerial appointee without providing valid reasons.
Parliament has concerns about the university doubling money spent on legal fees during 2023/24 financials. At least R14-million was spent on legal fees to defend the university against students and staff. There were many allegations of abuse of power from university management and victimisation of employees.
The university told Sunday World it would not engage in the merits and demerits of the contents of the exchange between the minister and the UL council.
“In the meantime, UL can assure all students, staff, community, alumni and key stakeholders that the institution is on solid ground and that it is being managed effectively and efficiently.
“The institution’s financial position is sound, and for a period exceeding ten years to date, UL has maintained an unqualified audit outcome. All UL qualifications are accredited by the requisite professional bodies. All academic and related programmes remain on track,” according to the institution.
