Statement by Higher Education and Training Minister Dr Blade Nzimande on the appointment of an Administrator for Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)
16 Aug 2011
The Report of the Independent Assessor, published in the government gazette on 22 November 2010, highlighted serious problems in the governance and management of the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), which were undermining the effective functioning of the institution.
The report specified that some of the greatest problems at the University emanated from the human resource portfolio. Some of the key recommendations that council had to address included the need for council to reform and that particular care had to be taken to ensure that the management of tenders and the appointment of personnel was conducted in an open and transparent manner so that there could be no suspicion of favour. Council was given until December 2010 to address key issues emanating from both the Sithole Commission and the Independent Assessor's Report.
The recent developments at TUT around the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor whose qualification is not recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority, has seriously compromised the academic integrity and reputation of the university in particular, and the higher education field in South Africa as a whole.
The council, by this action and others, has shown that it has failed to take seriously the recommendations of the Independent Assessor and has deliberately ignored the Minister's reasonable request for council to postpone the appointment until he had decided whether to appoint an administrator or not.
Council members, at a meeting held on 29 July, were requested to submit their positions on the Minister's decision to appoint an administrator by 5 August 2011. Submissions and correspondence received from Council members confirmed that critical findings concerning governance, management and human resources made by the Independent Assessor have not been addressed.