The state of affairs at two TVET colleges and nine public universities is a cause for concern, including the Eastern Cape’s University of Fort Hare (UFH). Issues of corruption and the state of governance have been brought into question.
Earlier this year, two assassination attempts on the University's vice-chancellor resulted in the fatalities of two protection officers. UFH has also been criticised for not doing enough to protect its female students amidst gender-based violence attacks and the murder of a female student.
UFH Placed Under Administration
UFH is one of the institutions that was placed under administration back in 2019, following the dissolution and resignation of the Council. This administration came to an end in November 2020, and the University is now in its post-administrative state, following the constitution of a new Council.
The administration was originally intended to run for 12 months but was extended for a further six months with the appointment of a second administrator. The administrators were tasked with investigating the roles, functions, powers and duties of the university governance.
The final reports were submitted on 29 June 2020 and 13 May 2021 respectively.
The Post-Administrative Period
Following the administration period, the Council is to report to the Minister biannually through a mid-term and annual report, on the implementation of the Consolidated Turnaround and Performance Improvement Plan (CTPIP) and other measures to address the findings of these reports.
The 2021 Annual Report revealed that notable progress has been made with regard to the CTPIP.
This process was divided into seven projects with the following outcomes:
- Governance Enhancement: work was in progress to finalise the new delegations of authority framework and any supporting documents.
- Financial Sustainability: an Entities Review Project was developed to look at the financial, legal and governance processes of UFH.
- Talent Management: all Executive and Senior Management positions were filled in line with the submitted Turnaround Plan. Eight policies and procedures were revised. An organisational redesign proposal has been finalised.
- Infrastructure Development and Maintenance: negotiations took place with regard to the resumption of construction of some buildings and fees were discussed.
- Review of the Academic Enterprise: the University concluded a review and clean-up of its PQM and Doctoral rules were revised and approved.
- Management Information Systems: the procurement process for an IT support specialist and consultants was initiated
- Institutional Culture: the delay of outstanding Disciplinary Committee cases for students was cleared.
The Current State Of Governance At UFH
Following these projects, the system remains vulnerable. There are still numerous concerns surrounding the safety of University staff, poor stakeholder relations and the ongoing allegations and investigations against the institution and its officials.
On 15 March 2023, the Council Chairperson, Bishop I Abrahams resigned from the Council as a member and the Chair of Council, leaving his duties to the Deputy Chairperson.
Quarterly meetings are held between the Department and the University as part of the post-administration process. The Department continues to closely monitor any developments surrounding the various investigations by law enforcement, relating to the allegations of corruption, the murder of employees and arson attacks.
The Department remains concerned about the state of governance at the institution.
