Listen: Unisa tug-of-war with minister continues

The minister of higher education has placed the largest open distance learning institution in Africa, Unisa, under administration.

Minister Dr Blade Nzimande announced this on Friday, and his decision has already attracted a threat of more legal action.

Prof Ihron Rensburg is now at the helm of the institution for the next 24 months.

The pending challenge to Nzimande’s latest decision stems from an earlier Pretoria High Court order by judge Harshila Kooverjie for him to leave the university alone after he announced his intention to place it under new management on October 4.

The tug-of-war between Nzimande and Unisa has continued for about a year.

Rensburg was vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Johannesburg, and previously an administrator at Vaal University of Technology in 2021.

He played a pioneering role in the merger and transformation of the former Rand Afrikaans University, the Technikon Witwatersrand and the Soweto and East Rand campuses of Vista University that formed the University of Johannesburg, and its massive expansion on the higher education landscape.

Rensburg will report to the minister or any delegated official in the department in writing on a biannual basis and is expected to submit his first report to the minister within 30 days.

Nzimande said he considered the findings and recommendations of independent assessor (IA) Prof Themba Mosia and the government’s responsibility to protect the public interest in the governance and management of Unisa ahead of dissolving its council and appointing the administrator.

He said the IA detailed how Unisa suffered chronic management failures in many of the key support systems and that the council was the root cause of the problems at the university.

Mosia was assisted by a ministerial task team on Unisa, chaired by Dr Vincent Maphai.

“Two reports [refer to] governance and management problems characterised by a gross lack of consequence management, seriously compromised performances of supply chain management, human resource management, compliance functions and finance.”

The role of the administrator will be to:

• take over the role, powers, functions and duties of the council for 24 months concerning governance.
• identify and initiate processes and initiatives that will restore proper governance and management.
• develop and implement a turnaround plan that will address the range of problems and challenges identified in reports.
• initiate an independent external investigation or forensic audit into the range of financial control weaknesses and financial irregularities identified by IA as a matter of urgency.
• ensure that a new council is constituted by the law as soon as is practicable.

Unisa said it had taken note of the announcement.

“The university remains firm on the view that the minister’s announcement is premature and in contempt of the court order of October 6.”

The institution said a judge had interdicted Nzimande from placing the university under administration.

“The same order reaffirms the earlier order of Justice Adams of August 24, which ordered the minister not to take any decision pending the finalisation of the interdict application by Unisa and the minister’s undertaking not to take any decision until the application to review and set aside the IA report was heard. This matter has not been finalised and is still before the court.”

Unisa said it was not fighting the minister, however, court processes to nullify his latest decision are underway.

Jurisprudence lecturer Mametlwe Sebei believed Nzimande is in contempt of court.