Blade Nzimande Places Unisa Under Administration, SA Distressed to See the Institution Crumble: “What a Shame”

• The once-great Unisa will be placed under administration by Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande
• Nzimande notified the institution's council of his intentions in a letter to the chairperson on Friday, 4 August
• This comes after a scathing report that found that General governance and performance of management and the council were not up to scratch

PRETORIA - Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has revealed his plans to place the embattled University of South Africa (Unisa) under administration.

This comes after a report exposed widespread financial and other forms of maladministration at the once internationally-renowned institution, TimesLIVE reported.

Nzimande’s plans have left many citizens shell-shocked as many reminisced how great Unisa used to be.

Blade Nzimande notifies Unisa council of intentions

The education minister said he wrote to Unisa council chairperson James Maboa on Friday, 4 August, to fill him in on his plans to appoint an administrator. The move means that the institution's council will be dissolved once the administrator takes over the helm, News24 reported.

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The decision to place Unisa under administration was sparked by a report from independent assessor Professor Themba Mosia and a ministerial task team chaired by businessman Vincent Maphai.

The report found various issues at the institution, including governance, the performance of management and the council, financial management, corruption, claims of intimidation and bullying, in addition to the leaking of confidential reports.

South Africans distraught by Unisa's demise

Below are some comments:

@thegraphmaker claimed:

"The bleak future facing all successful SA universities without measures in place to ensure appointments on merit, and prevent infiltration by the cadres."

@MsAfrolicious blamed:

"Every government parastatal that the @ANCParliament touches seems to be destroyed."

@XolaniMamkeli said:

"The integrity of this institution now is at stake."

@VincentPsychSA added:

"Unisa degree is not highly regarded anymore. Very sad."

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@PeterLouw1 commented:

"What in SA hasn't gone belly up, I can't think of one!"

@ColinWindell excalimed:

"What a shame!!"

Investigation into Unisa's Vice Chancellor’s finances reveals dodgy spending for R285 000 curtains

In another story, Briefly News reported that some worrisome inconsistencies were discovered during a recent examination of the vice chancellor of Unisa.

This comes in response to Nehawu's demands that Prof Puleng LenkaBula be suspended last year for allegedly wasteful spending on the renovation of her university residence.

Prof. Themba Mosia conducted the research for the report that examined the university's current situation. The vice chancellor allegedly spent R280 000 on curtains for her residence, just one of many irregularities that have surfaced.

Source: Briefly News