Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister and members, my topic for today is governance and management of institutions of higher learning. I would like to dedicate it to all those council members, managers, academics, students and other stakeholders who have committed themselves to the betterment and improvement of institutions of higher learning.
Before I was retrenched from retirement, I was privileged to be one of the ministerial appointees to a university council. One could not help but feel the determination of the ANC-led government - through its Minister, Comrade Nzimande - to do everything in its power to help the historically disadvantaged institutions to catch up with the historically advantaged institutions. Even in today's budget, of the R3,8 billion set aside for infrastructure R1,6 billion will go to seven HDIs. What more can the ANC- led government do to show its commitment to level the higher-education playing field?
Unfortunately, the implementation of these programmes depends on individual institutions, led by their governing councils. According to White Paper 3, councils are the highest decision-making bodies of public institutions. They are responsible for the good order and governance of institutions. They are responsible for an institution's financial policies, performance, quality and reputation. Councils ought not to be involved in the day-to-day management of institutions, as that is the responsibility of their executive management, led by the vice-chancellor, rector or principal.
Unfortunately, the experience on the ground is different. The Soudien Report of November 2008 had this to say, and I quote:
It became clear in the course of the institutional visits that, with a few exceptions, the leadership role of council was limited if not nonexistent. Indeed, the overriding impression is of councils that have a prescribed vision, provide little or no leadership and strategic direction and have weak management accountability measures in place. In short, they have abdicated their leadership role to management and seem to have, in the main, become conveyor belts for ratifying policies submitted by management. This was graphically portrayed by constituencies in one institution, where [one] claimed that 'Council was owned by management'.
On 2 December 2010, I was privileged to be one of the Ministerial Council appointees who was invited to meet with the hon Minister. He drew our attention to the Higher Education Summit, which was held at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, CPUT, in April 2010. Its recommendations, among others, were as follows: The establishment of a stakeholder forum; developing a charter on teaching and learning; the recapitalisation of HDIs; the development of African languages as academic languages; and ensuring a commitment to good governance.
The Minister went on to say:
A particularly important recommendation from the Summit with respect to councils was that of ensuring a commitment to good governance - especially important to eliminate all corruption and cronyism in universities. Not only do these things result in the loss of valuable resources, which should be used for educational purposes and strengthening institutions, but many of these disruptions at universities also appear to have corrupt practices at their root. Energies of some managers, other staff and even some council members appear to have been put into securing tenders or getting access to resources for personal enrichment. Such practices are a scourge, not only on our universities but also on our country as a whole.
The following were some of his observations on sloppy governance:
About five task teams were sent to different universities in 2010 - currently, we have three universities under administration, namely the University of Zululand, Tshwane University of Technology and Walter Sisulu University; annual reports are glossy but with less content on what is really going on in the universities; financial mismanagement; and poor management and administration.
On the University of Zululand, the report of the independent assessor had this to say:
Most complaints heard from stakeholders emphasise the ineffectiveness of council to the point where there is no longer a trust relationship between council and most stakeholders. It is obvious that council operates in a world of its own, not recognising the collapse of systems and the maladministration of a serious nature that undermines the effective functioning of the university.
He further reports:
In 2009, the Independent Electoral Commission - which was the body responsible for monitoring elections - fell into disfavour. The impasse led to student protests, which resulted in damage to property to the value of R8 million and the death of a student.
On the wanton destruction of university property, another incident - which took place in August 2011 at the University of Fort Hare, under my watch as a council member - becomes relevant. Hesa had this to say about that incident:
In less than a month, another outbreak of student violence has taken place at one of our universities, this time at the University of Fort Hare. Again it has been accompanied by the destruction of university property, intimidation, the forced removal of students from classrooms as well as the holding hostage of staff. Hesa condemns the violence, intimidation and damage to university property that has accompanied both these protest actions.
In our democratic country, different structures have a constitutional right to protest. They have God-given emotions and the right to feel anger, but I find it difficult to understand why this anger should be accompanied by the destruction of property. [Applause.] Yes, during our student days in the 1960s and 1970s, we went about burning and destroying property, but our excuse was that we had no platform from which to discuss our issues. We were treated like animals in the country of our birth. Surely that is not the case today. Our students have legitimate Student Representative Councils and they sit on a number of university structures, including the Institutional Forum and the council itself. We also have the Chapter 9 institutions to which they can turn if they are not satisfied. There cannot be even a single excuse for the wanton destruction of university property. [Applause.] The irony is that these acts of vandalism drive away potential donors willing to sponsor these poor institutions. Who can blame them?
I will end with the University of Zululand assessor's advice. He said, "The success or failure of the university hinges on strict adherence to principles of good governance and a clear delineation of roles between council and management." I thank you. [Applause.]