Report on High Education Governance and Administration at Parliamentary Committee
Presentation by Mr. BK Zwane, Chairperson of MUT TENUSA, to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee focused on appreciation of the invitation, assessment of governance, administration, and teaching and learning. The report highlighted strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement in the university's structures and operations.
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Presentation Transcript
TENUSAs Presentation to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation By Mr BK Zwane (MUT TENUSA Chairperson)
OUTLINE Appreciation of the invitation Comment on the state of Governance Comment on the state of Administration Comment on the state of Teaching & Learning 2
APPRECIATION OF THE INVITATION The leadership of TENUSA greatly appreciates the invitation by this important committee of the August House. The appreciation stems from the fact that the invitation affirms the importance of the voice of employees on the running of a university like ours. 3
COMMENT ON THE STATE OF GOVERNANCE Governance structures are in place and do sit but our view is that it is often seen as not robust enough which makes them appear weak. As a recognised union, we are not always appraised of the progress of dealing with issues raised by the numerous external reports (e.g., UBAC report), so we cannot comment on the specifics of such reports. Whilst there is a room for improvement, we note that there has been some improvements on governance over the last two years. 4
COMMENT ON THE STATE OF ADMINISTRATION The well-known glitch administratively is, too many people working in acting capacity, especially at Executive and Senior Management levels. At least there has been some traction on Council-appointed positions, with the appointment of 3 of the 5 executive positions almost concluded. Appointments of Faculty Deans are yet to be made and these positions are key for the effective pursuit of the T&L agenda. 5
COMMENT ON THE STATE OF ADMINISTRATION Other issues about Acting positions are; Ineffective leadership as incumbents disabuse themselves from decision-making. Due to poor or no succession planning, positions are sometimes occupied by individuals who fail in their mandate. There is no evaluation mechanisms for the acting positions, yet most are renewed automatically. Extremely inefficient procurement processes. 6
COMMENT ON THE STATE OF T&L The university has scored some positives over the last two years, for example; Adapted seamlessly to remote/online learning during Covid-19. Thus, having minimal impact on our pass rates. Still got new programmes accredited and rolled out over these difficult years. Kept staff morale on point despite low salary adjustments. 7
COMMENT ON THE STATE OF T&L However, we note that T&L is not adequately funded due to; Reduced government funding. Poor brand equity to attract non-governmental funding. Lack of financial innovation to stimulate 3rd stream income. As such TLAs are starved of much needed funds, e.g., Learning venues are not properly resourced for the 21st century. Students' residences are not well resourced, though there has been substantial progress on this one. 8
Once again, for the Invitation 9
