Students, unions decry NWU’S transformation journey
Mahikeng campus not treated equally as Potchefstroom
The North West University (NWU) has not fully transformed, employees at the Mahikeng campus do not have sufficient tools of trade, and Potchefstroom campus employees are prohibited from attending workers’ union meetings.
This is the view of student organisations and workers’ unions representatives Sunday World interviewed amid the celebration of the NWU’S 20 years of existence as an institution of higher learning and training.
The National Health, Education and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), the EFF Students Command and the student leadership at the NWU’S Vanderbijlpark campus, voiced their concerns regarding what they believe has been a transformation journey that has not produced full equity across the three campuses of the NWU.
The NWU’S three campuses are Potchefstroom, Mahikeng and Vanderbijlpark, in Gauteng.
The NWU was established in 2004 through the merger of the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (and its Vanderbijlpark campus), the University of the North West (formerly University of Bophuthatswana) and the Sebokeng campus of the Vista University.
Nehawu North West provincial secretary Ntombizodwa Moepeng said the workers’ union had been disappointed about lack of transformation. “We are not happy with what has been happening during the past 20 years of the NWU.
“We have not seen any transformation. Things are getting worse. The Mahikeng and Vanderbijlpark campuses are satellite campuses. Decisions are taken in the Potchefstroom campus. The Potchefstroom campus workers have all the tools of trade. Mahikeng campus workers do not. The workers at the Potchefstroom campus are not happy because they are not allowed to attend workers’ meetings. They do not enjoy their bargaining rights.”
Provincial spokesperson of the EFF SC, North West, Oyama Mgoduka said the university’s unitary model needed to be strengthened.
“The Potchefstroom campus still receives more attention than the other campuses. The other two campuses are not supported thoroughly. Majority of white students still prefer to go to Potchefstroom and not Mahikeng. Potchefstroom campus is our Sandton campus.
Student Representative Council president Lungile Nkomphela at the Vanderbijlpark campus said: “The university has only achieved 80% of what it intended to achieve with the merger. There is still racism at the Potchefstroom campus, and lectures are still being given in Afrikaans.”
However, vice-chancellor Prof Bismark Tyobeka’s view is at variance with those of workers and students’ bodies, maintaining that there have been “isolated” cases of racism in the institution, emphasising that Afrikaans, which has been the greatest bugbear of black peoples’ concerns, was no longer the primary medium of instruction at the university.
Tyobeka praised the institution for doing a great job in bringing together the historically white and black universities.
“We have managed to bring together two universities from two completely different cultural backgrounds, and two universities that had completely different performance levels.
“We brought them together in a very unison kind of way to forge a university that is currently ranked 10th on the [African] continent,” said Tyobeka.
“On the allegations of racism, indeed we have had some skirmishes. And these are isolated cases. Our classes are almost hitting 50-50 in terms of the medium of instruction being used,” said Tyobeka.
He rubbished claims that the Mahikeng campus is a “stepchild” of the NWU.
“To illustrate this, last year we completed a project worth R478-million at the Mahikeng campus, where we built student residences with 1 728 beds. How can a stepchild get that huge share?