INLSA
Nzimande
A damning forensic audit report into the University of Zululand had led to disciplinary action against 15 members of staff and students at the campus – with more likely to follow – Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande said yesterday.
Nzimande said cases would be opened and criminal proceedings instituted, where appropriate, against those concerned.
“There shall be no mercy for those who have been fingered by the forensic audit,” he warned.
Nzimande called on all education institutions to take decisive action against any staff found guilty of practices that “endanger the mission of the university”, saying quality education was central to transformation.
The action follows the release of the findings of a forensic audit team set up to look into the university’s affairs, following Nzimande’s dissolution of the university council and the appointment of Professor Chris de Beer, senior vice-principal of the University of Pretoria, as administrator of the university in April last year.
This followed the report and recommendations of an independent assessor.
De Beer was tasked with conducting a forensic audit of the university and with taking action against individuals who contravened university policies, codes of conduct or regulations.
A group of forensic auditors was appointed to conduct an institutional audit of the university’s affairs, including areas such as procurement, admission and registration of students, management and governance.
Nzimande said the team had reported “serious and repeated transgressions of university policy and procedures” pertaining to academic administration and access to official student data.
The team found university employees in possession of blank certificates, which could have been used to manufacture false certificates, and that students who did not meet the minimum admission criteria had been irregularly registered at the university.
Self-enrichment
There had also been repeated infringements of procurement policies and procedures, leading to preferential treatment and self-enrichment by some members of council and staff.
“Of particular concern is the fact that there are clear indications of collusion between some students and staff in unacceptable practices that undermined the educational mission of the university with devastating consequences for the academic stature and credibility of the institution. This should not be allowed to continue,” said Nzimande.
He said it was easy to break down the academic stature of an institution and to engage in practices impacting negatively on the credibility of its qualifications, but it was difficult to rebuild the image of such an institution.
“It must be emphasised that these unacceptable practices and behaviour not only pose a real threat to the future of individual institutions, but also to the education system as a whole.”
Nzimande said some students had admitted that they were irregularly registered after paying facilitation fees of R1 500 to R3 900 each.
“The auditors also found that there were many procurement irregularities in which suppliers owned or co-owned by university employees were providing services to the university without staff declaring their interests,” Nzimande said.
De Beer said 13 of the 15 to be subjected to disciplinary action were staff and two were students.
“But there will be more to follow as we work through the forensic audit report,” he said.
De Beer said: “We discovered repeated non-compliance with procurement processes, especially by particular individuals. It was exactly those who were enriching themselves by requesting services and providing the services by their own companies. They will appear before a disciplinary committee.”
De Beer said students who had been found to have been admitted irregularly to the university would be reported to the police.
An additional finding, Nzimande said, was that many staff had not achieved performance outcomes.
