The University of South Africa (Unisa) has been under fire recently, with some calling for the institutions to be placed under administration, due to a recent discovery of strange funds allocations.
This comes after a report was put together by an independent professor and assessor who was appointed by Minister of Higher Education, Blade Nzimande.
The 308-page report highlighted and detailed what some of Unisa's funds are being spent on.
The report revealed that significant sums of money are, in fact, not being allocated for student needs, but instead for allegedly maintaining the Vice Chancellor's home.
The report has not yet been published, but it found that R200,000 was allegedly spent on "sheer curtains for the official residence of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Puleng LenkaBula", and that R8,000 was spent on "vacuuming lessons for a house that only has carpets on its stairs".
The professor and assessor who created the report, Professor Themba Mosia, said:
It therefore raises questions as to why the university would spend so much money on training for an appliance that can only be used on the staircase.
This revelation has undoubtedly caused frustration and anger amongst many.
Unisa, like many other tertiary institutions in South Africa, continuously and notoriously has issues related to students and financial aid, alongside the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
Students have been battling the same challenges related to funding from their universities for years, which has often resulted in protest action.
To discover that hundreds of Rands are being allocated for things like room decor, must feel like a slap in the face, considering how many students are unable to access tertiary education and those who are able to, struggle to secure decent student accommodation, amongst other prevalent issues.
Dr. Sean Muller, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg's (UJ's) Institute for Advanced Study, says that hopefully this report will be the first step to actually sorting out the many issues students are facing, but that the report (which remains unpublished, but has circulated amongst a few senior academics) appears to look a little bit weak.
I'm a bit disconcerted about, what I think, appears to be a disjuncture between those headlines and what's [actually] in the report. And I think the report itself frankly, looks a bit weak, on some of these issues, particularly when it comes to the Vice Chancellor.
Muller added that the allegations against the University's Council appear more definitive, admitting that while the allegations aimed towards the Vice Chancellor should be further investigated, they are "not the crux of the matter."
Corruption within higher education, says Muller, has a "ripple effect", particularly in areas where academics become senior academics in fraudulent ways, who then go on to supervise and teach PhD students, advise policy-makers and train new academics.
If you've got people who are basically frauds in these senior academic positions, it has a ripple effect on broader society, beyond these narrow (but important) issues of financial mismanagement and violating institutional procedure.
LenkaBula and Unisa's Council members have denied certain facts of this probe, with Mosia adding that he is under the impression that both parties were hoping the matter would "simply disappear."
I have observed a pattern of denial and ignorance from the Unisa council and management, even in situations where indefensible facts were presented to them. The denial of the persisting problems only serves to continue to ruin the good name and reputation of the university.
Instances such as this one are, unfortunately, regular occurrences within South Africa's Higher Education sector.
Muller says that with a few of the country's tertiary institutions, the problem is that they are able to "fly under the radar", which allows for the avoidance of accountability.
That's partly because of the provisions in place, which quite rightly, seek to protect institutional autonomy and academic freedom, but that, to some degree leaves universities to run themselves. And when you have an institution that is corrupt or is weak in terms of accountability, that can lead to problems that mount over time and then you find yourself in a crisis.
Muller adds that while universities are attempting to clean up some of the messes associated with them, it can become extreme, such as at the University of Fort Hare where suspicious deaths have occurred.
Nzimande is currently considering whether or not to indeed place Unisa under investigation, in light of this report; Mosia made 26 recommendations, which included that Unisa be placed under full administration and the council and management be relieved of their duties.
