A forensic report, commissioned by the university and leaked to the media house, alleges that Mabuyane tried to obtain a fake PhD in public administration from the institution.
Last year, the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) announced that it would launch an investigation into allegations of maladministration at the institution following allegations that relate to the awarding of honours degrees.
The forensic report came to the conclusion that Mabuyane's master's degree was earned dishonestly and illegally through the creation of a false research proposal on his behalf by the academic staff at the same university that would grant him the degree, Fort Hare University.
In response, the Premier dismissed the allegations as a framing tactic by his political rivals to discredit him. Last year it was reported reported that after parting ways with Professor Edwin Ijeoma, the institution laid criminal charges against him for allegedly admitting and registering two students, among them Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
The University of Fort Hare expelled Mabuyane from its master's programme and deregistered him. Mabuyane was Ijeoma's student. Although he had threatened to appeal the decision, he never did.
Suggested Solutions To Address Qualification Credibility Issues
Professor Ahmed Bawa from the University of Johannesburg Business School says that these incidents are an indication of a lack of proper governance systems in universities. He adds that this is particularly the case in universities that have been subjected to widespread instability.
To remedy this, Professor Bawa says that an intervention by the sector’s stakeholders at the highest level is necessary to avoid further loss of credibility to these incidents.
My suggestion about all of this is that there needs to be very serious intervention from the Council in Higher Education together with the councils of universities and with the leadership of universities in each University. I think universities should really go through an audit now just to ensure that our qualifications are safe. ‘
He goes on to say that failure to do this, will lead to these incidents becoming a common occurrence within the next five years. Furthermore, there needs to be proactive involvement on the part of the National Prosecuting Authority and the police in efforts to root out corruption in the sector.
