Committee hears that SA universities have become ‘sites of corruption’ in a briefing on the state of governance.

STAFF REPORTER

Corruption at tertiary institutions in South Africa came under the spotlight in Parliament last week when the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation asked to be briefed on the current going-on in higher education.

In particular, the committee asked for a briefing on the University of Cape Town Council (UCT) investigation report into governance and management challenges, problems at the University of South Africa (UNISA) on governance-related matters, an update on the state of affairs of the University of Fort Hare (UFH) and University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).

Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande blamed corruption for the ongoing challenges at higher education institutions, saying that universities have become huge sites for personal and private accumulation considering the massive budgets, supply chain and procurement etc.

As corruption increasingly becomes a problem in our society, our institutions of higher learning have not been left untouched,” he said.

The department said it remains concerned about developments in the investigation and continues to monitor the situation.

Out of the country’s 26 public universities, the Minister said 16 independent assessors were appointed since 2000 to probe governance instability.

INSIDE EDUCATION