Parliament calls for independent assessor at University of Fort Hare
Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training chairperson Tebogo Letsie addressed issues at the universities of Fort Hare and Free State during a media briefing on Monday by Parliament’s Social Services Cluster oversight committees.
Image: File
Amid escalating tensions at the University of Fort Hare, Parliament's higher education oversight committee has urged Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela to appoint an Independent Assessor to investigate pressing governance issues.
During a media briefing on Monday, Tebogo Letsie, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, highlighted concerns at both the University of Fort Hare and the University of Free State, following a series of protests at these institutions.
Students at the University of Fort Hare burned tyres, organised protests, and disrupted classes after demanding the immediate resignation of vice-chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu.
They accused him of corruption and overstaying his tenure after the alleged unlawful extension of his term past retirement age.
They also had frustrations over student housing conditions and deficiencies in safety and security.
The Administration Building, the Senate Chamber, the Examinations Office and the Human Resources Department were among the buildings devastated by last week's violent protest.
Image: UFH
The University of Free State (UFS) also experienced violent protests that saw students having to evacuate the premises.
The violent outbursts were linked to changes within the UFS financial support system.
Letsie said that they were confronted with a sad reality at the University of Fort Hare, as it lost invaluable infrastructure (buildings, ICT, and equipment) critical to teaching, learning, and research, simply because stakeholders could not come together to engage.
“We are deeply concerned that it required such extensive damage to university property for the university stakeholders to get the attention of the Council and Management and to finally acknowledge and respond to student grievances. This outcome reflects a troubling pattern of neglect and a failure to engage proactively with the student body and other stakeholders,” he said.
He added that the estimated cost of the damage at the university is between R250 million and R500 million. He said that had the university management consulted students on how to move forward while a process to amend the SRC constitution was underway, some of the events of the past weeks could have been averted.
The committee also expressed concern over:
- Governance Transparency: The extension of the Vice Chancellor’s term was carried out without consultation with the Institutional Forum (IF), undermining the principles of participatory governance and stakeholder engagement.
- Student Housing Conditions: The state of student residences is alarming. Numerous facilities fail to meet the Department of Higher Education and Training’s Minimum Norms and Standards for Student Housing. Reports indicate that some residences have been without hot water for several years due to neglected, dysfunctional geysers. There are also buildings where the government has spent millions of rands that are not in good condition, as the structures are disintegrating.
- Safety and Security Deficiencies: The security infrastructure is severely compromised. Biometric access control systems are non-functional, and security personnel are not equipped with the tools of their trade to perform their duties effectively. This poses a significant risk to students’ and staff’s safety.
“The university had reported that there was a death of a student, and we were told she hanged herself... security should have been able to see something was happening and prevent it,” Letsie said.
Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training chairperson Tebogo Letsie addressed issues at the universities of Fort Hare and Free State during a media briefing on Monday by Parliament’s Social Services Cluster oversight committees.
Image: Parliament RSA/Supplied
The committee also said it was not an easy decision to recommend that the minister appoint an Independent Assessor to the University of Fort Hare.
“We engaged with them for close to 14 hours and could tell the Council had its own issues. You asked them a simple question, and they could not answer us, so we concluded that the Minister of Higher Education should invoke Sections 43 and 44 of the Higher Education Act to appoint an independent assessor to assess the fitness to hold office of the management of Fort Hare," Letsie said.
Regarding the University of the Free State, Letsie said that the institution decided to discontinue provisional registration for the 2026 academic year, meaning that students with outstanding debt will not be able to register, as they will not have the opportunity to secure registration while still seeking funds to pay the debt.
“What is concerning is that NSFAS-funded students are supposed to be funded for the full cost of study.
"This phenomenon, where university-owned residences charge more than the NSFAS cap, should be investigated across the board because if you are doing that, it means you are tactically excluding poor students who are funded by NSFAS and others,” Letsie said.
He said the university’s handling of the protest was concerning, as students were assaulted by private security and police for protesting peacefully, which escalated the peaceful protests to violence, resulting in damage to university buildings.