The University of South Africa (Unisa) Council should be dissolved and an interim administrator appointed.
This is one of the recommendations by the Ministerial Task Team (MTT) which was established by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Training Blade Nzimande to conduct an independent review on Unisa.
This emerged during the department’s briefing of the parliamentary oversight committee.
The task team’s report paints a picture of pervasive incompetency in certain Unisa departments and a culture of non-compliance and lack of consequence management.
Director-General of the Department of Higher Education Nkosinathi Sishi says the report has also identified what he described as the council’s chronic management failures.
“Therefore in respect of the above-the MTT recommends that the minister should issue a directive on account of reasonable belief that Unisa Council is involved in financial impropriety otherwise mismanaged, is unable to perform its functions effectively. And that the minister should dissolve the council. In addition, the minister should appoint a multidisciplinary team of experts that a new council be reconstituted with the revised state of rules. “
Sishi told MPs that Nzimande was studying the report and in consultations with the Council of Unisa before taking any decision.
“ The report that we have tabled, the key around it is the implementation of the report. And I think we note this and you also insist as well as Honourable Mahlatsi that time frames to address the issues must be identified. “
A review of other institutions needed
The committee’s Chairperson Nompendulo Mkhatshwa says an independent review of other tertiary institutions is needed.
“As it concerns modes of learning and teaching or whether or not its hybrid or the hybrid component of these institutions and coming out of COVID-19 as well it may be a blessing that we may have learned but we need strongly to consider what then works best and how do we then learn from Unisa where of course perhaps they might have succeeded but also where there have been shortfalls. “
The MTT was established at the backdrop of concerns about implications of new technologies on the operations of Unisa, the quality of offerings/programmes, high student failure rates, as well as de-accreditation of some of its academic programmes and instability in the senior management.
Spokesperson, Victor Dlamini explains some of the challenges at Unisa:
