The University of South Africa (Unisa) has slammed Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande for placing the institution under administration, saying it is illegal, insensitive and ill-timed.  On Saturday, Nzimande announced that former University of Johannesburg Vice-Chancellor Professor Ihron Rensburg has assumed the role of Unisa administrator for two years starting from October 27. Nzimande also announced that he had dissolved the university’s council.  “In making his decision to both dissolve Council and appoint the administrator, Minister…

The University of South Africa (Unisa) has rebuffed reports that the institution is administratively on its knees and is therefore deserving of being placed under administration. During a media briefing at Unisa’s Muckleneuk Campus in Pretoria, the principal and vice-chancellor of the university, Professor Puleng LenkaBula, said she acknowledged two reports that led to Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande’s decision to place the institution under administration. Nzimande’s decision was based on a ministerial task team (MTT) report and an Independent…

Professor Puleng LenKabula, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Africa (Unisa), reminds me of former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. Lenkabula and Rousseff, for different reasons, epitomise the pain of being an outsider and the consequences of not being a candidate for the establishment in any race. The establishment is the dominant social group, the élite, who control a polity, an organisation, or an institution.  Brazil’s first female president, Rousseff, is a former guerilla fighter and member of the Workers…