Universities the length and breadth of South Africa have been under fire, but this week it wasn’t students venting their anger against fee hikes, it was a group of aggrieved academics whose discontent has exploded into a war of words.
Disgruntled University of KwaZulu-Natal academics this week signed a letter of complaint against vice-chancellor and principal, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, levelling accusations that he had “racist tendencies” when it came to running the university.
The academics are professors John Mubangizi, Cheryl Potgieter, Deo Jaganyi and Renuka Vithal.
Other accusers are chief finance officer, Bulelani Mahlangu, and head of student services, Sibusiso Chalufu.
Because of the ongoing investigation into these and other claims, a spokesperson for UKZN said at this stage the vice-chancellor was not in a position to discuss the matter and all correspondence be sent to the council chairman, Dr Ayanda Ntsaluba.
It is understood that senior executives are angry that Van Jaarsveld scored them poorly on their performance appraisals which jeopardises their performance bonuses in the short-term and the renewal of their contracts in the long-term.
Meanwhile, it appears the majority of staff at the university are supporting their vice-chancellor. In a survey of 510 staff, 99.51 percent supported Van Jaarsveld and 88.4 percent believed the complainants had brought the university into disrepute. More than 96 percent believed the accusations were false, 2 percent said they were neutral and 1 percent believed the accusations.
However, the UKZN director of corporate relations, Lesiba Seshoka, who is also implicated as one of the accusers, said he was unfazed by the outcome of the survey.
“The survey was not official and it will not have an influence on the council. I cannot go back on the merits of the case or even share with you my thoughts on this matter because it has been referred to the council. We want to respect the processes in place .
“We cannot allow ourselves to lose credibility by talking to outside forces while the process is being looked at by council.”
While the flurry of heated exchanges is causing waves in the highest echelons of the university, it is clear van Jaarsveld believes “the bigger picture” is what matters more than any internal differences.
“The signs are bold and clear that something dramatic has to be done to address the education crisis facing us,” he said. “That’s where our energies must lie. The scale of the unrest sweeping the country tells you that there is no going back.”
Whatever was being done in the past to accommodate those who wanted tertiary education, he said, hadn’t worked.
“In my view, once we have faced that blunt reality we can move on. We’ve seen the same pattern of unrest occurring, year in and year out at this university.
“It’s followed by a makeshift patching process that never solves the problem, just puts a temporary end to the turmoil, so university life can continue. The explosion was inevitable. Those are things we have to concentrate our minds on, first and foremost.”
He believes the recent high-profile meeting with President Jacob Zuma, which vice-chancellors countrywide attended, was the necessary starting point for any new dispensation that might emerge.
Issues high on the agenda were new ways of funding universities and freeing up the channels that allow access to free tertiary education based on merit and income.
“A new structure of funding has to be innovative with special emphasis on students who are potential graduates, especially in the sciences, but unable to pay for their education. That has to be my focus.”
He said studies had shown that when students, many orphans from impoverished backgrounds, were given sufficient funds to alleviate worry about accommodation, food and textbooks, they performed as well as those from more affluent families.
“The converse is that students from poor backgrounds who don’t get that help fare badly and often drop out.”
About 8 000 at UKZN are funded, which is close to 20 percent of the student population.
On home ground, Van Jaarsveld, a doctor of zoology, and former chief of the National Research Foundation, is on a trajectory to steer UKZN into what he hopes will be a new era of intellectual excellence.
“The plan is to establish core groups of quality academia in specific areas,” he explains. Two of those areas are likely to be maritime studies – having a huge harbour on our doorstep, it makes sense – and studies relating to HIV/Aids, which are topical and historically connected to this university.”
The vision is that students, at home and internationally, would choose UKZN as their preferred institution of learning when it came to selected subjects. “We are already far into the planning process. I think it is going to be an exciting time for this university..”
Not 500m from the Westville campus research centre where van Jaarsveld has a temporary office, is still an acrid smell of fire – the aftermath of protests that saw much of the lower floor of the administration block in flames and damage to the tune of more than R50 million.
However, while the heat has died, sparks are flying. These are what he has to contend with as his new vision for the university takes shape.
The matter will be aired at a special meeting on December 7 where an independent person is to probe the matter further.
Sunday Tribune