SOUTH African vice-chancellors are concerned the Higher Education Amendment Bill will encroach on autonomy at a time when institutions have been rocked by a series of student protests calling for radical change.
In its current form the bill encroached on institutional autonomy, University of the Witwatersrand vice-chancellor Adam Habib said on Wednesday, the second day of public hearings on the bill hosted by Parliament’s portfolio committee on higher education.
Prof Habib is the chairman of Universities SA, which represents vice-chancellors.
On Tuesday, University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Max Price, whose institution has had a turbulent start to the academic year because of an accommodation shortage, said the university supported the bill’s proposal on the higher education minister setting and enforcing transformation goals but expressed reservations about the bill giving him sweeping powers in other areas.
Prof Habib said the terms of transformation and its associated goals were vague and invited the possibility of a legal challenge.
The organisation was also concerned that the bill sought to define and limit public higher education institutions’s ability to invest.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions and its affiliate the National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union said it "strongly welcomes the correct and progressive objectives and intentions of the (bill)".
In contrast to proceedings in Parliament, kilometres away the RhodesMustFall movement vowed to intensify its campaign until University of Cape Town management met its demands.
Violent protests erupted at the institution on Tuesday night during which historic paintings and a bus shuttle were torched while Dr Price’s office was petrol bombed.
The university is applying for an interdict to prevent more violent protest, but Dr Price said his office being petrol bombed was "nothing personal".
Eskom CEO Brian Molefe helped bail out several students on Wednesday following the arrest of his son, Thumi, and others for malicious damage to property.
RhodesMustFall member Chumani Maxwele said "peaceful" protests would continue, insisting black students were the worst affected by the crisis.
Dr Price said more than 75% of the university’s residence population was black.
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