Minister seeks legal advice on UNISA enrolments

South African Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande’s lawyers are preparing a legal opinion in response to a recent high court judgment that set aside his directive to open and distance learning educational institution the University of South Africa (UNISA) to reduce its intake of first-time entering students this year by 20,000, writes Prega Govender for Times Live.

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled on 11 March that the minister’s decision was unlawful. The Department of Higher Education and Training’s acting deputy director-general for the university education programme, Thandi Lewin, told parliament on 7 May that Nzimande’s two legal counsels were deciding on “the way forward” and whether there were grounds for a successful case should the minister opt for an appeal.

The EFF Student Command and the Black Law Students’ Council hauled Nzimande and UNISA to court earlier this year on an urgent basis asking it to review and set aside his decision as it was going to deprive students of their constitutional right to education. UNISA, which is the largest open distance learning institution in Africa, enrols nearly a third of all South African students.
Full report on the Times Live site

Meanwhile, the SABC News reports that the Student Representative Council (SRC) at the University of South Africa (UNISA) is threatening to go to court over the institution’s delay in accepting thousands of students for the 2021 academic year, despite the court ruling. The SRC has since embarked on a number of protests, including an online strike, but has not been able to disrupt academic activities already in full swing.
Full report on the SABC News site