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The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) hereby condemns the meeting held yesterday by Vice-Chancellors of South African institutions of higher learning with the President of the Republic.

Not only do we condemn the arrogant cheek of university Vice-Chancellors led by Prof Adam Habib to subvert state protocol by undermining the office of the Minister of Higher Education and Training, we believe that the current crop of higher education managers have failed to give leadership and take responsibility for their role in the violence plaguing the higher education sector.

We call on progressive higher education managers to break away from the myopia and groupthink that characterizes the current leadership of Universities South Africa (USA) under Prof Adam Habib.

1.       1% Increase in the Skills Development Levy

Internationally, the responsibility to fund higher education does not rest with the state alone. It is also the responsibility of the business sector to assist the state in funding higher education as it is business that also benefits from the immense investments made. In the past 5 years, the state has invested heavily in funding the NSFAS as well as funding new infrastructure to facilitate increased access. This has not been fairly matched by the business sector. In lieu of the need for increased funding for the NSFAS, the Network hereby calls for the immediate increase in the skills development levy by 1% which needs to be ring-fenced exclusively to recapitalize the NSFAS.

2.       Failing Leadership, Poor Accountability & Privatisation of Reserves by Vice-Chancellors

The Network has within a period of five years since our establishment highlighted examples of Vice-Chancellors (including a former Chairperson of Universities SA) who flout the Constitution of the Republic and allow racist workplace practices, continue practising secret hidden salary bands that perpetuate discriminatory remuneration between black and white employees and continue victimising black students and staff not only at at NWU but also Stellenbosch and UCT in particular.

Vice-Chancellors as members of Universities SA complain about student violence and the funding failures of NSFAS and continue to pay lip service to transformation yet are the same hypocrites that continue to sabotage the nation by flouting employment equity and labour relations legislation with impunity across the country. The criminal case lodged by the HETN against Dr Theuns Eloff, a former Chairperson of HESA / USA for alleged fraudulent practices involving state funding is a case in point.

Contrary to the stated intentions of Vice-Chancellors to assist the state in effecting free higher education that will benefit all citizens of the Republic, Vice-Chancellors continue to undermine the integrity of the Republic by flouting the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act and utilising state funds as private ATM’s and privatising the apartheid reserves of the state unfairly accumulated during apartheid times in investment accounts held with private banks.

We reiterate that these billions of reserves held by universities are ill-gotten gains from the apartheid state and need to be declared back to the national fiscus and be utilised to co-fund the annual allocations of the state and entry of poor students into the sector through amongst others the recapitalisation of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). The privatisation of state funding by Universities SA members must cease immediately.

3.       Deviation from Self-Proclaimed Mandate

It is over 5 years since the 7th January 2010 when Universities SA/ HESA signed an undertaking with the current Minister of Higher Education, and publicly pledged to facilitate increased access to higher education and to ensure that higher education remains affordable for most individuals and families. To date, this empty public rhetoric by Universities SA/ HESA has not been actualised and the status quo remains unchanged notwithstanding the R6 billion worth of investments and budgetary increases facilitated by government including the planned building of two new universities in Mpumalanga and Northern Cape.

Universities SA / HESA has deviated from its self-proclaimed mandate and is in reality a trade union advocating for the personal interest of Vice-Chancellors, an oligarchy of learned friends and associates which does not act in the best interests of the country.

Higher education managers under the leadership of Prof Adam Habib should stop complaining and take responsibility for their role in perpetuating the higher education challenges of the country. Universities SA leadership complain about the need for increased state funding yet are quick to assert so-called institutional autonomy when it suits them. They fail to realize that institutional autonomy should not be mistaken for lack of accountability to the South African nation that establishes and funds then.

We call on progressive higher education managers to break away from the cycle of myopia and groupthink that characterizes the current leadership of Universities South Africa (USA) and commit themselves through their actions to the spirit and letter of the Constitution of the Republic and Higher Education Act.

Issued by The Higher Education Transformation Network