Controversies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal

Last updated

There have been a number of controversies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal since its foundation. Firstly, there have been several strikes and demonstrations on the part of both staff and students. Some strikes from 2009 onward have involved police intervention and the use of riot control measures, as well as violence on the part of some strikers. Secondly, there have been a series of legal and disciplinary actions taken by senior university management against academics for speaking in public about the university. These actions have drawn wide criticism, both from academics and from organizations such as Cosatu and UNESCO.

Contents

Strikes

Staff on strike in 2006 Resistmanagement.jpg
Staff on strike in 2006

2006 strikes

On Thursday, 2 February 2006, the four unions at UKZN (COMSA, NEHAWU, NTESU, and UNSU) served notice to University Management that they would commence strike on Monday, 6 February 2006. [1] The immediate grievance was the sub-inflationary wage increases of the general staff while senior management was given bonuses. [1] However, the unions also cited the "corporatization" of the university and the rise of an "authoritarian style of Management" as wider concerns. [1] The strike was timed with the first week of the academic year (registration week) in order to demonstrate seriousness. [1]

The strike had a strong unifying effect on staff, bringing them together across race, class and employment categories. [2] During the strike, Professor Dasarath Chetty, director of public relations, circulated emails to staff threatening to dock pay for time spent not at work, and instructing them not to speak to the press about the strike. [2] Students also joined in on strike, with approximately 1000 students participating during one day on the Pietermaritzburg campus. [3] On 16 February 2006, two weeks after the start of the strike, the unions and management reached an agreement and issued a joint press release suspending the strike. [4] The release also pledged to "develop processes for the full engagement of all issues raised" during the strike. [4]

2009 March strikes

In March 2009, police fired rubber bullets and teargas at students that had turned violent at the Howard College campus. [5] The students had been protesting since 17 March 2009 over accommodation, financial aid, and student exclusions and had handed a memorandum of demands to the university's management on 19 March. A blind student was shot in the back with a rubber bullet by police, and nonstriking students were forced to leave lecture venues as a result of the strike action. [6]

2010 March–April strikes

On 9 March 2010, student strikes at the Howard College campus caused lectures and tests to be canceled. The strike - called by the students' representative council in support of their call for adequate transport for disabled students, among other demands - was declared illegal by the university. [7] [8]

The strikes ended officially on 14 April, with the Student Representative Council holding strikes on different campuses on different days of the week, suspending only on 13 April when the SRC agreed to meet with management to discuss their complaints. [9]

2010 September strikes

On Monday, 6 September 2010, protests sparked against what students said was an attempt by the varsity to privatize accommodation started at the Westville campus. [10] The demonstrations then spread to the Howard College and Pietermaritzburg campuses on 8 September. 8 students were arrested after a security guard was assaulted on the Pietermaritzburg campus. A number of tests at the Westville campus were postponed as a result of the strike. [10]

2011 March–April financial aid strikes

Student strikes over financial aid in March/April 2011 lead to the police action on all of the UKZN campuses. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to control students leaving many students injured. 150 students were arrested and charged with public violence. At the time of the strikes, UKZN had an interim interdict preventing students from striking on any one of the five campuses of UKZN. [11] [12]

Toward the end of March, all five campuses were closed due to the violence of the protests, and striking and police presence turned Howard College Campus into a 'battlefield'. [11] [13]

Police were accused of using 'heavy-handed tactics' against protesting students, specifically shooting students with rubber bullets at close range. Two students were hospitalized, awaiting treatment after being shot by police. Nkosinathi Jele was admitted to Addington Hospital, awaiting an operation for two rubber bullets to be removed from his left upper thigh. Another unnamed student was transferred to St Augustine's Hospital after he was shot in his penis. [14]

Actions taken against academics

Freedom of expression

In 2006, the International Freedom of Expression Exchange stated that "Free expression and academic freedom are in severe decline at the university." [15]

Academics striking for academic freedom in the 2006 strike. On the right of the sign, holding it up, is Nithaya Chetty. Next on the right (on his left) is John van den Berg. Affirmfreedom.jpg
Academics striking for academic freedom in the 2006 strike. On the right of the sign, holding it up, is Nithaya Chetty. Next on the right (on his left) is John van den Berg.

In 2007, the Freedom of Expression Institute was concerned about the university's suspension of professor Evan Mantzaris for criticizing management, "part of a larger process in which the space for free expression and academic freedom at that university is being narrowed". [16]

In 2008, Education Minister Naledi Pandor wanted to meet vice-chancellor Malegapuru Makgoba and discuss resignations of staff overexpression concerns and the condemnation from Cosatu and the Freedom of Expression Institute for the punishment of academics. See below for more information on the resignations of staff and punishment of academics by the university. [17]

UKZN disciplinary action against professors

The University of KwaZulu-Natal brought charges in August 2008 against scientists Nithaya Chetty and John van den Berg for 'not exercising due care in communicating with the media' and bringing the university into disrepute. Van den Berg, professor of mathematics, has signed a settlement agreement terminating disciplinary hearings against him, while Chetty, an associate professor and president of the SA Institute of Physics, elected to resign [18] on the advice of his attorney and union representative. [19] [20] [21] [22]

The charges against Chetty and Van den Berg arose out of comments by the two men, published in the press and on the university's "Change" listserv in March and April. [23] The comments were critical of UKZN vice-chancellor Malegapuru Makgoba's alleged repeated attempts to block from the senate agenda a faculty of Science and Agriculture submission on academic freedom, which refers to a "prevailing culture of incivility and racial stereotyping that further impedes the free exchange of ideas" at the university. [24]

Academics and staff were banned by Makgoba from meeting to discuss the disciplinary action against the professors. [25] [26]

The events put the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Malegapuru Makgoba in the international spotlight when 35 professors from around the world wrote an open letter to Mr. Mac Mia, Chair of Council of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Professor Malegapuru William Makgoba urging them to reconsider their treatment of academics and the state of academical freedom at the university. The letter stated: "We do not wish to review the specific charges brought against Chetty and van den Berg; rather, we are deeply concerned that the adjudication processes set in motion by UKZN's leaders run in the face of globally recognized standards regarding the rights of academic staff to speak and act on policies of their institutions and of higher education in particular and to maintain core responsibility for the review and discipline of academic colleagues." [27]

The authors went on to cite various UNESCO statements commenting that '"These standards recognize that the protection of the rights of expression of academic staff is both fundamental to democratic institutions in a democratic society and also essential to success of institutions of higher education. The UNESCO recommendations hold that academic staff:" [3]

The authors of the letter also expressed deep concern in the fact that the leadership of the University of KwaZulu-Natal had violated "deeply held standards": "We have deep concerns that the processes established by the leadership of the University violate broadly and deeply held standards of governance which give a central responsibility to, and broad freedom for, academic staff in the conduct of academic governance in institutions of higher education." [3]

The authors concluded:

"In respect of these standards, and with concern for the future of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the worlds of scientific and humanistic learning and research, we respectfully ask you, first, to reconsider the process you have proposed; second, to restate the University's commitment to academic freedom, including the rights of academic staff to review, criticize, and debate the policies and directions of their institutions; and, third, to reaffirm the University's commitment to standards of university governance consonant with the standards recognized by the UNESCO Statement of 11 November 1997." [3]

The letter was signed by 35 professors named below with their institution:

Eviction of shack dwellers and the firing of Fazel Khan

In 2005 vice-chancellor Malegapuru Makgoba tried to have three families, living in shacks on the Westville campus, evicted. [28]

UKZN academics Fazel Khan and Sally Giles directed a documentary film about Abahlali baseMjondolo, a shack dwellers' movement. When Kahn was excised from both the photo and text in an article about the documentary in the university newsletter UKZNdaba, he was charged with dishonest conduct because he told newspapers that he believed that he had been excised from the photograph and text by the university management due to his role in the staff strike of 2006. Khan was found guilty [29] of bringing the university into disrepute and fired. [30] The Mercury had previously reported that vice-chancellor Makgoba had publicly declared that, following a request from Mayor Obed Mlaba, he would charge Khan and 2 other academics working with Abahlali baseMjondolo for 'incitement'. Khan is currently suing the university for unfair dismissal.

Animal Cruelty

There have been two major cases of animal cruelty by students of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Microwaving of a cat by UKZN students

In May 2005, the pet cat of a campus security chief's family was killed by students from the Pinewood men's residence for student teachers on the UKZN Edgewood Campus when they cooked her in a microwave oven. The cat was said to have died an "extremely painful death". [31]

The management of the university condemned the "barbaric" act, and an officer of the SPCA, Roland Fivaz, said "it was particularly disturbing that some students laughed about the incident at a meeting". [31] An outcome of the investigation into the killing of the cat by the SPCA and RMS was not reported.

Killing of a monkey by UKZN students

On 18 September 2011, the killing of a monkey on the Westville campus was reported. [32] Witnesses reported seeing four of five male students trapping a monkey inside a communal kitchen inside one of the campus halls of residence. The students were alleged to have started beating the animal with a stick, continuing to do so until they thought it was dead. [33] Witnesses said the animal then began to crawl away with a broken spine; the students were alleged to have continued hitting the monkey until it was dead. One witness said, 'monkey was screaming so loudly that it could be heard inside some of the residence blocks'. [32]

The incident leads to a 'national outcry' [34] and protests at the entrances of the Westville and Howard campuses. The protesters demanded brutality against animals to stop at university and that the university bring justice to those to have committed the alleged killing. A similar incident in 2005 involved students cooking a cat alive in a microwave further aggravated the situation, as this was seen as a further example of animal cruelty by students of UKZN. [34] [35] The university was smashed for turning a 'blind eye' to animal cruelty, and the university was criticized for not disciplining the alleged culprits.

The university reported that the perpetrators claimed that they were "unaware that beating the monkey constituted cruelty to animals". There was also uncertainty into whether the monkey was killed or not, but students at the university who witnessed the incident were adamant that the monkey was, in fact, dead when the beatings stopped and stated that the perpetrators were "obviously denying that they killed it". [34] [36]

The SPCA and Monkey Helpline were heavily involved in the case. [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KwaZulu-Natal</span> Province in South Africa

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu and Natal Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of KwaZulu-Natal</span> Public university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The University of KwaZulu-Natal is a public research university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.

Pinetown is a city that forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, based just inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The city is situated 16 km north-west of Durban and 64 km south-east of Pietermaritzburg.

The University of Durban-Westville (UDW) was a university situated in Westville, a town situated near Durban, South Africa, which opened in 1972. It is now one of the campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It was initially established for Indians, as during apartheid there were few universities that admitted non-White students. Prior to the building of UDW, Indian students traveled by ferry to a facility at Salisbury Island, which had been established in 1961 as the University College for Indians UDW offered degrees in commerce, the arts, law, engineering, and health sciences and sciences in general. Later an indoor sports centre was built, which hosted national sporting events. UDW was the hub of many student anti-apartheid political rallies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Natal</span> University in South Africa

The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-Natal on 1 January 2004. It was founded in 1910 as the Natal University College in Pietermaritzburg and expanded to include a campus in Durban in 1931. In 1947, the university opened a medical school for non-white students in Durban. The Pietermaritzburg campus was known for its agricultural engineering programmes, hence the nickname "the farmers" whilst the Durban campus was known as "the engineers," as it concentrated on other engineering programmes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malegapuru Makgoba</span> South African immunologist, physician, public health advocate and academic

Malegapuru William Makgoba is a leading South African immunologist, physician, public health advocate, academic and former vice-chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. In 2013 he was recognised as "a pioneer in higher education transformation", by being awarded the Order of Mapungubwe in Silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darius Brubeck</span> American jazz keyboardist and educator (born 1947)

Darius Brubeck is an American jazz pianist, author, and educator. He is the son of jazz legend Dave Brubeck with whom he worked professionally in the 1970s, while also performing in his own bands, The Darius Brubeck Ensemble and Gathering Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Habib</span> South African academic

Adam Mahomed Habib is a South African academic administrator serving as Director of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London since 1 January 2021. He served as Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa, between 1 June 2013, when the term of his predecessor Loyiso Nongxa ended, and 1 January 2021. He is also a former deputy vice-chancellor of the University of Johannesburg.

The Constitution of South Africa protects all basic political freedoms. However, there have been many incidents of political repression, dating back to at least 2002, as well as threats of future repression in violation of this constitution leading some analysts, civil society organisations and popular movements to conclude that there is a new climate of political repression or a decline in political tolerance.

There have been many political assassinations in post-apartheid South Africa. In 2013 it was reported that there had been more than 450 political assassinations in the province of KwaZulu-Natal since the end of apartheid in 1994. In July 2013 the Daily Maverick reported that there had been "59 political murders in the last five years". In August 2016 it was reported that there had been at least twenty political assassinations in the run up to the local government elections on the 3rd of August that year, most of them in KwaZulu-Natal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KZN Literary Tourism</span>

KZN Literary Tourism is a literary tourism research project initiated in 2002 by Professor Lindy Stiebel, a lecturer in the English Studies department at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The project has created an online archive of over 100 writers linked to the KwaZulu-Natal province, collected reviews of local literature, conducted interviews of local authors, promoted local literary events such as Time of the Writer and investigated “the links between literature and tourism in scholarly colloquia and publications”. The project has also been responsible for creating eight writer trails which attempt to connect writers, their works and place within the province.

Andrew John Ross is a family medicine specialist at UKZN, and is the founder and a trustee of Umthombo Youth Development Foundation (UYDF) which has produced more than 135 graduates in 16 different health science disciplines.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Durban in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.

Miriam Adhikari is a physician and scientist specializing in paediatrics with a focus on neonatology. She is Emeritus Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and a neonatologist at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine. She also has a focus on paediatric nephrology and is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. She has a degree from the University of Cape Town and a PhD from the University of Natal.

Zwakele Maxwell Mncwango is a South African politician who is the provincial chairperson of ActionSA in KwaZulu-Natal. He was a Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature from 2018 to 2022 and served as the Leader of the Opposition in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature from 2018 to 2019. He was the Provincial Leader of the KwaZulu-Natal Democratic Alliance (DA) from 2015 to 2021. Mncwango was the party's KwaZulu-Natal Premier candidate for the 2019 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narend Singh</span> South African politician (born 1954)

Narend Singh is a South African politician who is the chief whip of the Inkatha Freedom Party in the National Assembly and the treasurer-general of the party. Prior to joining the National Assembly in 2007, he was a Member of the Executive Council in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government from 1997 until 2006 and a member of the Senate from 1994 to 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vikinduku Mnculwane</span> Anglican bishop in Zululand

Vikinduku Victor Mnculwane is a South African Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Zululand. He was elected at an Elective Assembly of the Diocese of Zululand, held on 20 May 2021 and his episcopal ordination was on 12 September 2021, held at the Cathedral Church of St Michael and All Angels in Eshowe. He succeeds Bishop Monument Makhanya as the fifteenth bishop of Zululand.

Ntuthuko Mbongiseni Sibiya, known as Jomo Sibiya, is a South African politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Human Settlements and Public Works in KwaZulu-Natal from March 2021 until August 2022. A member of the African National Congress, Sibiya was elected to the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature in 2014.

Mahendra Ramasamy Chetty is a South African judge of the High Court of South Africa. He was appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal Division in June 2014. Before that, Chetty was an attorney for the Legal Resources Centre, where he worked between 1990 and 2014; he was the director of the centre's Durban office from 1999 onwards. He was admitted as an attorney in 1988.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal Women's football club, also known as UKZN Ladies F.C. or UKZN W.F.C, is the women's football club representing the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal based in Westville, Kwa-Zulu Natal. The senior team competes in the Sasol Women's League, the second tier women's football league in South Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Staff at UKZN to engage in strike action (press release)". Combined Staff Association (COMSA). 3 February 2006. Archived from the original on 9 September 2007. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  2. 1 2 Patel, Raj (2006). "The strike and academic freedom at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, 2006" (PDF). African Sociological Review. 10 (1): 231–233. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 van der Walt, Lucien (16 February 2006). "Wits Staff and Students Support UKZN Strike". WITS. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  4. 1 2 UKZN management and unions. "UKZN strike suspended: Joint Communique".{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. ↑ "UKZN Student Protest Turns Ugly". The Mercury. 24 March 2009. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  6. ↑ MAGWAZA, NOMPUMELEL (24 March 2009). "Blind student hurt as protest turns ugly". The Mercury. Archived from the original on 21 November 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  7. ↑ Mbonambi, Gugu (9 March 2010). "March disrupts lectures on KZN campus". The Mercury. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  8. ↑ "UKZN student protests continue". SAPA. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ↑ Padayachee, Kamini (14 April 2011). "UKZN strike suspended". The Mercury. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  10. 1 2 Subramoney, Thrishni (9 September 2011). "UKZN management to take action against strike". East Coast Radio. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  11. 1 2 Ndlovu, Sinegugu (31 March 2011). "Campus turns into battlefield". The Mercury. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  12. ↑ "Campus turns into battlefield". Sapa. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  13. ↑ Holley, Lauren (6 March 2011). "UKZN protests: management criticised". Easte Coast Radio. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  14. ↑ Ndlovu, Sinegugu (4 January 2011). "Police 'brutality' at UKZN". The Mercury. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  15. ↑ "Lecturer faces disciplinary committee, possible dismissal, as free expression declines at university". Freedom of Expression Institute. 10 October 2006. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
  16. ↑ "FXI says 'erosion' of free expression at KZN varsity". Mail&Guardian. 24 March 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2007.
  17. ↑ Hlongwane, Agiza (7 December 2008). "Clean up your act, UKZN warned". Sunday Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
  18. ↑ Chetty, Nithaya (26 November 2008). "My resignation from the UKZN". tux.humsci.ukzn.ac.za. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  19. ↑ McKune, Craig (20 January 2009). "Management shows contempt for academic freedom at UKZN". South African Journal of Science. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
  20. ↑ "FXI distressed by disciplinary action against two UKZN Professors". NTSEU. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  21. ↑ Gower, PRIMARASHNI (15 March 2008). "UKZN academics question senate probe". Mail and Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  22. ↑ "Controversy and transformation at UKZN". Science and Development Network. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  23. ↑ "Change Info Page". Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  24. ↑ Dell, Sharon (27 November 2009). "Professor resigns despite calls on UKZN". The Witness. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
  25. ↑ Newman, Latoya (12 November 2008). "UKZN under pressure to halt action on profs". iol. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
  26. ↑ Dibetle, Monako (17 November 2008). "UKZN meeting thwarted". iol. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
  27. ↑ and 34 others, David William Cohen (3 December 2008). "35 top Profs "deeply concerned" at maltreatment of academics at UKZN". The Witness. Retrieved 26 August 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ↑ Beharie, Santosh (8 January 2006). "KZN University in court to evict squatters". Sunday Independent. p. 3. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
  29. ↑ Transcript of the hearing Archived 13 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ↑ Tolsi, Niren (5 May 2007). "UKZN's Fazel Khan to fight back". Mail&Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
  31. 1 2 Liebenberg, Dries (18 May 2005). "Students microwave family cat". news24. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  32. 1 2 Beard, Damon (23 September 2011). "ALLEGED MONKEY KILLING AT UKZN". East Coast Radio. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  33. 1 2 "Monkey killed in Westville". The Crest. 19 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  34. 1 2 3 Saba, Athandiwe (16 September 2011). "Westville students kill monkey with sticks". The Witness. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  35. ↑ Fourie, Bronwyn (21 September 2011). "UKZN 'blind'to monkey death". iol news. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  36. ↑ Fourie, Bronwyn (23 September 2011). "'Monkey not killed'- UKZN". iol news. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.