Durban - With two weeks to the start of the new academic year - and with violence and drama expected to accompany it - the top team at the University of KwaZulu-Natal are already at each other’s throats.
The fight is now so vicious that it looks as though the only resolution will be in court.
Five senior executives were issued with letters of intention to suspend them this week, but they have sworn they won’t go down without a fight.
So nasty has the spat between the academics and vice-chancellor Dr Albert van Jaarsveld become that Minister of Higher Education and Training Dr Blade Nzimande has added his voice to that of the university council, saying he wants the recommendations of an inquiry it instituted to be carried out.
Nzimande, who spoke to the Sunday Tribune on the sidelines of the Joe Slovo memorial lecture in Pietermaritzburg yesterday, said the council had done the right thing by constituting the inquiry.
“The inquiry has found that some of the senior management did things that are out of order and they must be dealt with,” he said.
Van Jaarsveld was accused of “incompetence and racism” by the five (originally seven, two have left) two years ago.
Two of his accusers were among the shortlisted applicants competing with him for his job.
The report on the inquiry, by advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, cleared the vice-chancellor and recommended all the executives be fired.
The five are deputy vice-chancellors John Mubangizi (law and management studies), Renuka Vithal (teaching and learning), Deogratius Jaganyi (engineering, agriculture and science), Cheryl Potgieter (humanities), and Lesiba Seshoka (director of corporate communications).
Mubangizi and Vithal had both been in the running to be vice-chancellor when Van Jaarsveld was appointed.
The recent trouble began when the executives signed a letter accusing Van Jaarsveld of pushing an “all white” leadership structure, being racist and prejudiced, flouting university policies and soliciting complaints against executives.
Tensions heightened when they all objected to his idea of building a R300 million business school which would be moved from the Westville campus to uMhlanga. The executives argued it wasn’t in the best interests of the university.
Over the past week, support has grown for the executives with the ANC Youth League, the Black First Land First, South African National Civic Organisation, the National Health Education and Allied Workers Union and Higher Education Transformation Network saying they would stand by them.
Some are calling for Van Jaarsveld to step down.
The ANC Youth League said: “We are committed to drive racists and their allies out of the university if needs be. Blacks cannot continue to be marginalised and sidelined when they have been through difficult years of segregation.
“We shall soon run our #OccupyUKZN campaign if there is no change in the behaviour of those who occupy the university administration and their council proxies.”
Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba, UKZN’s council chairperson, said there was sufficient material to institute disciplinary processes against the executives.
“In this regard, an appropriate external person will be appointed soon to chair the intended disciplinary. Council will be firm and act, guided by our policies, procedures and the country’s legal framework, with the singular consideration of advancing UKZN in the interests of our country,” she said.
UKZN student representative council president Nokolo Bhengu said the SRC hoped the executives would sort out their differences so the university could get back to business.
She said the SRC “didn’t want to get involved”.
“The timing of this is going
to cause a lot of instability at the institution. We have many critical issues to deal with and to have
these issues sorted out, we need
a strong executive committee. If we do not have this, we are going to suffer.”
Meanwhile, there have also been calls for the minister to step down.
Commenting, Nzimande said: “I am not appointed by them, I am appointed by the president, so that decision is up to the president.”