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By Thapelo Molefe
The University of Limpopo is under fire, with Parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education raising concerns over governance, financial accountability and systemic failures in student administration.
At the heart of the controversy is the extension of Vice-Chancellor Mahlo Mokgalong’s tenure, which committee members questioned amid mounting governance challenges.
During a day-long meeting on Wednesday, committee chairperson Tebogo Letsie demanded clarity on the extension.
“You wrote a letter to council recommending an extension of 12 months,” Letsie pointed out, emphasising the need for transparency and justification.
University chairperson Pandelani Nefolovhodwe was in the hotseat over the extension, with the committee scrutinising how the decision had come about considering that statutory requirements limited a VC’s term to a maximum of 10 years.
Letsie repeatedly pressed Nefolovhodwe on his understanding of the university statute governing the tenure of the VC.
Nefolovhodwe initially claimed that the statute was “silent” on term limits, prompting the university’s Registrar, Kwena Masha, to clarify the rules.
According to the statute, a VC’s term may not exceed two consecutive five-year periods, subject to council approval and consultation with the Senate and Institutional Forum.
The committee also highlighted delays in appointing a successor. Despite an initial advertisement for the VC position in 2018 and a subsequent attempt in 2023, the process has stalled for over a year.
Letsie expressed disbelief at the prolonged review of candidates’ credentials, labelling it a misuse of public resources.
“This institution appears to be operating without urgency or accountability,” Letsie said.
“The extended timeline undermines public trust and raises doubts about whether there was ever an intention to appoint a new VC.”
In addition to leadership issues, the committee highlighted alarming failures in student admissions and graduations.
The committee outlined a troubling scenario.
“A student registers in January, completes all modules, writes tests, passes exams and is even allowed into the graduation hall.
“Then suddenly, they are told they are deregistered. This is a simple but critical failure of internal processes,” said a committee member Sihle Ngubane.
Masha acknowledged such cases, attributing them to discrepancies discovered during final reviews.
“We ensure students meet all requirements; admissions, tests and exams. But there are instances where something is found missing during final checks,” he explained.
However, Letsie expressed frustration with this explanation, holding the leadership accountable.
“The issue is systemic. If the Registrar and their team accept students who don’t meet qualifications, they aren’t doing their job. Internal controls are not being exercised. Bribes are taken and systems are manipulated. This ultimately falls on you, vice-chancellor, as the CEO of the institution,” he asserted
Mokgalong defended the institution’s actions, arguing that qualifications could be withdrawn if compliance issues were discovered, even after graduation.
“If it is discovered at any stage, even after graduation, that someone didn’t comply with requirements, the law allows us to withdraw their qualification. We don’t want to subject people to fraudulent credentials,” he said.
Letsie, however, emphasised the need for accountability beyond the students.
“Yes, you can withdraw qualifications, but who internally has been held accountable? Have you identified and disciplined those responsible for these failures? This is about consequence management, and it starts with leadership,” he insisted.
Another contentious issue raised was the university’s growing legal expenses.
The university’s acting CFO Mamokgadi Masete disclosed that R14.7 million was spent on legal fees in 2023.
This revelation prompted the committee to demand a breakdown of the expenditures and an explanation of their necessity.
The committee resolved to investigate further, including reviewing council minutes and decisions related to the VC’s tenure and recruitment processes.
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