Fort Hare University 'a continental asset' that must be protected
The corruption spring cleaning at eDikeni (Fort Hare University) must not be perceived as a normal institutional decoupling nor isomorphic mimicry, as is normally the case in other government institutions riddled with corrupt activities with no consequences whatsoever. Today, we as citizens find ourselves begging for justice, law and order because it’s a rare judicial commodity these days, especially in corruption cases involving senior politicians.
The joint problem of identification and consultation with a broad range of stakeholders during this “exercise” by both the university and the SIU is a drive that may significantly improve the image of that university.
I align myself with the stance taken by the university in its crusade against corruption. Prof Sakhela Buhlungu must be given unwavering support and best wishes in his quest, and that of the university to extricate itself from academic rogues.
Fort Hare has curved a niche for itself as a coveted fountain of knowledge. Its reputation cannot be sullied by the pass-one, pass-all brigade or well known crooks.
Having made a mockery of most institutions of the state, they now wish to encroach on the prestigious name of Fort Hare to gain some semblance of respectability.
We have just seen the unsavoury reports coming from Unisa recently and we must stand up and guard against such malfeasance rearing it’s ugly fanged heads at Fort Hare too.
Fort Hare has a proud record of men and women of letters who entered those gilded gates of that institution with clarity of purpose. Those were men and women of great intellect and fortitude. They came to Fort Hare in pursuit of excellence and scholarship, not some flimsy pockets of murky glory and personal prestige or backdoor bullying proclivities.
The silence of civil society when Fort Hare is under such siege is worrisome. The silence of its own alumni and convocation over such brazen attacks on its prestige and tradition trounces the logic.
Those, who by virtue of their socio-historical accident “standing”, seek to defeat the ends of justice and opt for short cuts in the acquisition of knowledge must be condemned. Postgraduate education acquisition cannot be likened to the allocation of tenders. It’s a knowledge-production process, and there are no short cuts there. You must toil — finish and klaar.
Increasingly, those in high office show us a political middle finger every time they are asked to account for their deeds and showboating the unexplained wealth that they suddenly possess.
Our message is that no one is above the law. Public figures must face the same scrutiny just like ordinary citizens. The courts and the judiciary must be the true arbiters of justice not obsequious lackeys of the rulers.
Failure to comply with the university’s rigorous admission rituals simply means you don’t meet the required standards, there is no ambiguity there.
Then why force matters, going as far as to try to hide behind a ludicrous and lunatic technicality?
People who treat education as a cattle auction or brothel and think everything in life is for sale have a right to build their own universities, where they can do as they please.
Fort Hare is a continental asset that must be protected and guarded by all those who value and respect education.
Insolent habits of academic thuggery must not be tolerated, especially from those who instead of feeding and developing their own minds and positively impacting on our societies opt to bully their way up.
The Eastern Cape Province has disturbingly dropped the standards in crucial areas of growth and development simply because it had accommodated mediocrity for a long time, and such conduct has been propelled by those who demonstrate no appetite for hard work, ethical leadership and upholding the legacy of our forefathers as well as the rule of law. Theirs is a mere isomorphic mimicry. This must stop. Hopefully no one will be protected because of their proximity to power. Both Fort Hare and the SIU must be supported right to the end and allowed to independently do their work without intimidation and threats. We don’t want to lose more lives at Fort Hare, we have lost too much blood there unnecessarily.
The hard-earned gains of our democracy must be defended from academic syndicate. Fort Hare University cannot and must not be compromised. Govan Mbeki, Oliver Tambo, Robert Mugabe, Robert Sobukwe and Nelson Mandela never entered that university by force or through the back door, but on academic merit. That should be exemplary enough to younger leaders, especially those with unbridled ambitions to understand that readers are leaders, and leaders are readers, not buyers and dealers.
What is shameful and despicable though is that those who wish to navigate through academia by means of bribes are supposed to be leaders of the ANC tomorrow. They bring harm, insult and ridicule to the organisation and government positions they hold. Think of someone who is another suspect of this crime, yet tasked to be the guardian of the country’s public service and administration, then you will see the recklessness in which we pretend to be professionalising our standards of public service and condescending with which we “deal” with corruption. If this is the calibre of leaders we have and boast about for the future, then God forbid.
Mphumzi Mdekazi writes in his personal capacity. He is an ANC member from AB Xuma branch in Boland Region (WC), a post graduate student at Stellenbosch University and a former adviser to former minister Lindiwe Sisulu. He is originally from Queenstown/Komani in the Eastern Cape.