New legislation is a blow to university autonomy

By Nicola Jenvey. South Africa’s universities view their autonomy as sacrosanct, and so the decision by Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande to push through legal amendments that will allow him to intervene in university governance "at whim" has come as a severe blow. Last month parliament voted in favour of the Higher Education and Training Laws Amendment Bill, and last week it was approved in the National Council of Provinces –- the final step ahead of becoming law.
The bill essentially simplifies the process by which the government can place struggling universities under administration and sanctions other kinds of government interventions. But it has shocked the sector is that neither Higher Education South Africa (HESA), which represents the vice-chancellors of the country's 23 universities, nor the statutory advisory Council on Higher Education (CHE), were consulted on the amendments.
Both entities had made presentations to parliamentary bodies, arguing that the amendments would affect their autonomy. It was, said HESA Chair and Durban University of Technology Vice-chancellor Ahmed Bawa, “extraordinarily disappointing" that they had not been consulted before the bill went to parliament – especially as the amendments were "devastating". Read more...