1. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this memorandum is to set out the University of Port Elizabeth’s institutional response to the announcement by the Minister of Education in the Government Gazette No 23550 of 24 June 2002, ‘to establish a single higher education institution through the merger of the Port Elizabeth Technikon, the University of Port Elizabeth and the Port Elizabeth campus of Vista University’.

2. BACKGROUND

The motivation for the Minister’s proposal is set out in the document: Restructuring and Transformation: A New Institutional Landscape for Higher Education, which was published in the Government Gazette No 23549 of 21 June 2002.  As required by law the Minister also published the reasons for his merger proposal in The Herald of 27 June 2002.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

2.1 The reasons are

i) Overcoming the apartheid-induced divide between institutions and a historically black institution;
ii) Promoting staff equity;
iii) Ensuring the effective and efficient use of resources through reducing overlap and duplication in academic programmes;
iv) Consolidating existing academic programmes to enable a wider range of academic programmes to be offered in response to regional and national needs;
v) Promoting student mobility through enhancing articulation between technikon-type and university-type programmes;
vi) Building and strengthening research capacity; and
vii) Ensuring the efficient and effective use of administrative and infrastructural resources given the close geographical proximity.

2.2 In a letter dated 25 June 2002 from the Minister to the Chair of Council, the Council is invited ‘to make representations on my proposal’ by no later than 4 October 2002.

2.3 The process followed in developing the position of Council set out in this memorandum involved obtaining comprehensive and structured institutional comments on an initial draft compiled by the VC and CEO.  In addition ‘question-and-answer’ sessions were arranged between the VC and CEO and staff and students in general, and between targeted groupings of staff and students such as the various faculties, heads of academic departments, the unions, etc. In addition Senate considered a draft institutional response and broadly supported the position adopted towards the merger proposals set out in that draft response.   These comments and interactions formed the basis of the final response developed for Council’s consideration. Furthermore, all staff and students were invited to comment in their own right through formal institutional notices on the University’s intranet, as well as via e-mail and also through the University’s regular internal publication: Bulletin.    [ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

3. DISCUSSION

UPE bases its institutional response on the following factors:

3.1 The proposals for reconfiguring higher education should not diminish the importance of the role of the Eastern Cape in higher education nor the role of higher education in the Eastern Cape.

The number of higher education students in the Eastern Cape at present accounts for roughly 10% of all such students in the country while its proportional share of the total number of higher education institutions is approximately 20%.  The proposed new institutional configuration roughly maintains this proportional division.

3.2 The new higher educational configuration for the Eastern Cape should provide for a greater measure of institutional differentiation than is the case at present.

Implementation of the proposals will lead to a dedicated technikon in the East London/Umtata area of the Eastern Cape emphasizing career focused education, for a university in Grahamstown emphasising science and the knowledge disciplines with some measure of training for the professions, for a rural and semi-urban developmentally oriented university in Alice/East London and for a new ‘comprehensive institution’ in Port Elizabeth which is to offer both ‘university’ and ‘technikon’ type programmes.  At face value and depending on the nature of the ‘comprehensive institution’, the proposed new institutional configuration could promote greater institutional differentiation in the Eastern Cape than is the case at present.

3.3 The new higher educational configuration for the Nelson Mandela Metropole should display a close alignment with the urgent socio-economic developmental needs of the Metropole.

This need is not likely to be met satisfactorily by a ‘comprehensive institution’ modeled on the mechanical notion of simply continuing with ‘university’ and ‘technikon’ type programmes in one institution as proposed by the Minister of Education. What is required is a totally new institutional model based on the internationally emerging notion of an ‘engaged’ institution and one which also reflects the newly developing relationship between the university in the metropole and society, around a socio-economic developmental axis.  This new institution which derives its nature and character from this engagement with business, civil society, and public governance systems as well as with existing and emerging knowledge systems, should also reflect some of the dynamic new relationships developing in countries in Europe, the UK and Australia through mergers between universities and career focused higher education institutions. [ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

3.4 The new ‘comprehensive institution’ should have academic integrity and academic viability which is reflected in its institutional identity and which is commensurate with that which is normally associated with a university.

The proposal for a comprehensive institution seems to seek to maintain the binary divide within a single institution with a single academic management.  It is difficult to envisage how such an institution is to provide the necessary curricular cohesion required for laying a basis of real academic integrity in the new institution.  The emerging model of an ‘engaged university’ marked by characteristics such as: a socially and developmentally responsive curriculum and research agenda, a strong emphasis on partnerships with other knowledge providers and with the various structures in society, innovative modes of the delivery of learning, the integration of ‘community service’ into the core functions of teaching and research etc, could provide the theoretical underpinnings of a new and dynamic approach towards a curricular continuum of educating towards high level professional activity - provided that ‘professional activity’ is understood in  a  flexible and an expanded manner. Such an understanding could provide the link between the two curricular extremes of ‘general’ and ‘vocational’ education.  UPE is already an institution with a strong orientation towards educating students for such expanded professional activity, while PE Technikon has also of late emphasized higher level professional and technological training in its curriculum. It could thus be argued that these trends have resulted in a gradual diminishing of the traditional curricular distance between so-called ‘university’ and ‘technikon’ programmes at these two institutions.

An engaged university, in which the curriculum is centred around the notion of such an expanded professionally oriented education, while allowing some scope for both general and more narrowly focused vocational education, should provide a basis for ensuring that the required academic integrity is attained as well as satisfying the requirement of true responsiveness with regard to the Nelson Mandela Metropole and its socio-economic needs.  Such a university will also be able to focus its research efforts and to build the required research capacity in its predominant fields of academic focus.

Establishing such an institution will provide an opportunity for capitalizing on the best in all three participating institutions and will, in the case of UPE, ensure that the very considerable contribution which we can make academically and managerially to such a fundamentally new institution is realized.  This institutional model has the potential to put the Eastern Cape and the Nelson Mandela Metropole in particular, at the cutting edge of the newest institutional developments worldwide. [ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

3.5 The proposed implementation of the Programme Qualification Mix (PQM) exercise should be held in abeyance in the case of institutions subject to mergers.

It will be very difficult and could well even be meaningless to expect institutions that are subject to being merged to implement the proposals of the DoE’s  PQM exercise. This follows since programme integration and rationalization represents a major challenge of institutions involved in a merger. In the case of UPE such discussions have already commenced with PET and with Vista(PE). Implementing the PQM as if such an incisive restructuring of academic programmes between the three institutions is not imminent does not make sense. The PQM exercise should thus be held in abeyance in the case of the proposed mergers in the Nelson Mandela Metropole until the new institution is legally established and the merger is practically implemented.

3.6 The new higher education configuration in the Nelson Mandela Metropole should support more cost-effective use of infrastructure and resources. [ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

The greatest gains with regard to cost-effectiveness are likely to be made in the economies of scale resulting from the use of similar systems and approaches in the planning, control, maintenance, management and development of functional areas such as: human resources, finances; IT systems; student administration (including admissions); fixed assets and equipment; academic development programmes; management information and institutional planning; learning programmes (including articulation arrangements between the different kinds of programmes); research programmes; marketing and communications (where in essence we now compete against one another); and extra-curricular sporting and organized social activities.

Real cost gains will require fundamental re-alignment and rationalization of all systems and policies in all these areas between the three institutions involved.  This will require careful planning and the development of new systems which could either be existing ‘best practice’ systems in one of the three institutions adopted for transfer into the new institution, new systems arising from the integration of present systems or brand new non-existing systems agreed on by all concerned.  Clearly an overhasty implementation process of the proposed merger could jeopardize not only the gains in cost-effectiveness but the very academic and managerial viability of the new institution itself.  UPE thus advocates an implementation process which resolutely sets itself on course to achieve full institutional integration but does so within a reasonable timeframe which will ensure success.  Since existing students in any case have to be serviced in terms of the existing learning programmes for which they enrolled, it implies a minimum period of three or four years before meaningful curriculum and learning programme renewal and integration can be implemented fully.  Such a reasonable implementation timeframe is also required to ensure that in co-operation with relevant labour unions, all requirements of the Labour Relations Act concerning HR issues are fully met.   [ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

3.7 The reconfiguration of higher education in the Nelson Mandela Metropole should advance goals such as reconciliation and nation building as well as equity of staff and student profiles.

The proposed institutional reconfiguration involves two historically white institutions which are both fully committed to deep seated institutional transformation and which have at least 50% black students.  Their main seat of operations is in a previously advantaged geographical area of Port Elizabeth.  The other institution is a historically black institution which has its main seat of operations in a previously disadvantaged area and whose student body is nearly exclusively black.  If properly managed, the establishing of the new institution could make a significant contribution towards reaching these equity and reconciliation goals towards which UPE is fully committed. [ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

3.8 The envisaged institutional reconfiguration should not serve as an opportunity to pass on any institutional debts of participating institutions to the new institution,   particularly if some of the participating institutions are debt free. 

UPE is committed to continuing strict financial control in the pre-merger phase to ensure that it enters the new institutional configuration debt free.  If any of the other participating institutions do have existing debts these should not become the responsibility of UPE as part of the new institution in any manner.  The DoE should thus require and facilitate the carrying out of due diligence studies (which includes undisclosed liabilities) of all three institutions in the Nelson Mandela Metropole before the new institution is established as a legal entity.  In addition, it is very important that ways be found to ensure that institutions do not engage in unwarranted and irresponsible pre-merger expenditures which either lead to debt or to the increase of existing debts.

3.9 Valid merger costs should be for the account of Government and not for the participating institutions.

It is clear that the merger and the ensuing implementation processes will result in unforeseen costs for the institutions involved.  These costs should be covered by additional grants from the Government in terms of an agreed merger cost protocol set up by the Department of Education.  In particular the Department of Education should provide funds and set up guidelines and procedures for dealing with differences in remuneration levels of staff and differences in tuition fees.  The latter aspect in particular, should be dealt with in terms of the procedures set up in the merger processes of the colleges of education with universities and technikons.

3.10 The merger should avoid any enforced job losses of staff in all three of the institutions.

The most important asset of any higher education institution is its staff complement.  Building academic staff capacity is a long and cost intensive process and such capacity should be preserved at all costs.  Similarly non-academic staff in higher education institutions represent a very specialized HR asset which should also be preserved. Furthermore, the single most important factor in ensuring the success of any merger such as the envisaged one, is the management of staff and their job prospects in the merger process.  UPE is strongly of the view that, if at all possible, the new institution should undertake that no forced job losses through retrenchments, will occur.  This can be accomplished by amongst other means, allowing for a merger timeframe - in terms of the legal requirements - of approximately one year and a reasonable implementation time frame of at least five years.  This would enable managing many of the complex HR issues in terms of natural attrition, freezing some posts as they become vacant and if necessary granting voluntary severance packages to selected staff categories.  [ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

3.11 Confusion surrounding the use of the terms ‘merger’ and ‘incorporation’ should be clarified.

The change of terminology from incorporation to merger in documentation put out by the Ministry of Education has led to some misunderstanding and confusion.  It is necessary that the meaning of these terms against the background of Sections 23 and 24 of the Higher Education Act should be made clear.

4. INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSE  

4.1 UPE thus supports the establishment of a new comprehensive institution for the Nelson Mandela Metropole by means of merging UPE, PE Technikon and Vista (PE).  The new institution should display the characteristics set out in Section 3 of this memorandum – particularly Sections 3.3, 3.4, 3.6 and 3.7.  This support is, however, subject to some qualifications which should be seen as indicative of our commitment to its success.

4.2 These qualifications are:

i) That the new institution displays the curricular characteristics of what is commonly being termed an ‘engaged university’ in which an emphasis on a  broadly interpreted professionally oriented education, plays an anchor role in the learning and research programmes and is not simply the result of a mechanical putting together of ‘university’ and ‘technikon’ type programmes into one institution.

ii) In order to link this ‘engaged university’ with the immediate metropolitan environment and to reflect a required level of academic integrity and international institutional currency its designation should contain the word ‘university’ and if at all possible it should be designated:  The Nelson Mandela University (NMU).[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

Such a designation would:  Indicate the desire of all three participating institutions to signal a combined beginning of a totally new institution; avoid the unnecessary wrangling involved in one of the institutions wishing to preserve its name and thus its history to the exclusion of the other two institutions; link the new institution very strongly and very naturally to a major section of its constituent community ie the Nelson Mandela Metropole; indicate very strongly the new institution’s commitment to contributing towards meeting the socio-economic challenges of the Metropole and also of the broader Eastern Cape region; and show the strong commitment of the participating institutions   towards reconciliation and nation building.

UPE does not support the use of any further descriptors attached to the name Nelson Mandela University such as ‘of Science and Technology’.  Such a designation would not reflect the comprehensive nature of the academic programmes and study fields of the new institution which would also cover fields such as Education, Law, Arts and Humanities.

iii) UPE, PET and Vista(PE) should not be expected to implement the PQM exercise in this pre-merger phase as separate and individual institutions.  The implementation of this exercise should be held in abeyance until the new legal entity:  The Nelson Mandela University has been formally established when implementing the PQM exercise would form part of the natural process of restructuring the academic programmes of the three participating institutions.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

iv) Participating institutions should not be expected to pay for the debt - disclosed or undisclosed - of any of the other participating institutions.  The DoE should thus facilitate the carrying out of due diligence studies of all three of the participating institutions before the new institution is established as a legal entity.  It is extremely important that measures should also be put in place to ensure that no irresponsible and unwarranted expenditures are incurred by institutions which could either result in them falling into debt or in increasing their debt (if such debt exists).

v) Participating institutions likewise should not be expected to carry the cost of valid merger costs from their normal annual allocations.  Based on an agreed merger cost protocol underwritten by the Department of Education, valid merger costs should be carried by the DoE.

vi) Wherever possible, the new institution should safeguard the immediate job prospects of staff in the participating institutions by undertaking that no programme of job retrenchments would be embarked upon.  Staff rationalization, would, instead be managed in terms of natural attrition, freezing (or abolishing posts as they became vacant) and voluntary severance packages if necessary.

vii) UPE is committed to the successful implementation of the proposed merger of the three institutions in the Nelson Mandela Metropole.  International experience and the challenges outlined in Section 3 of this memorandum, the need to develop the required curricular cohesion of the new institution, and the non-negotiable need to provide maximum job security for all staff, however, clearly point to the need for reasonable timeframes to drive such mergers through successfully.  Unreasonably short merger time frames will undoubtedly place the successful implementation of the merger at serious risk.  While recognizing that the establishment of the new institution as a legal entity could occur possibly already occur sometime during 2003 thus initiating a formal merger period of potentially 12 months, UPE strongly feels that the challenges outlined in Section 3 require that the implementation of the merger resulting in the new institution should occur over a timeframe of between four to five years at the very least.  In addition there is no reason for the establishment of the new legal entity, the Nelson Mandela University, to be rushed to the degree of causing institutional instabilities in the present institutions. [ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

viii) The Minister of Education needs to ensure that all the parties participating in the merger in the NMM have the correct understanding of the merger processes and terminology in terms of Sections 23 and 24 of the Higher Education Act.

ix) The Council of UPE is of the view that the complexity of the merger in the NMM requires a slightly larger Interim Council than that which is provided for in the Act. 

4.3 In conclusion: In the interests of the country, the province and the Nelson Mandela Metropole, and taking into account the valid institutional interests of UPE and of its students and staff, UPE pledges its support and co-operation to the proposed merger between the three institutions in the Nelson Mandela Metropole in forming the Nelson Mandela University.  UPE sees this as an opportunity to contribute to a fundamentally new relationship between higher education, the Nelson Mandela Metropole and the Eastern Cape Province.  Our support for the merger is, however, qualified by the considerations set out in par 4.2(i) to (ix), which qualifications we believe are essential for securing the success of this merger. In particular the Council of UPE wishes to stress the utmost importance of a realistic and reasonable merger timeframe.

Background to the merger

Some background information on the reasons for the proposed higher education mergers in South Africa, and the process involved.

BACKGROUND

The Minister of Education's proposals for the restructuring and transformation of South Africa's higher education system, as approved by Cabinet, are intended to lay the foundation for a new kind of system that better meets South Africa's human resource development, skills training and research needs. The proposals are aimed at developing a system that is equitable in its distribution of resources and opportunities, academically and financially sustainable, and productive in meeting the country's socio-economic needs.[ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

In terms of the proposal, the 36 tertiary institutions will be consolidated into 21 - 11 universities, 6 technikons and 4 comprehensive institutions. UPE and the PE Technikon will be merged into one of these new "comprehensive institutions", and the PE campus of Vista University will be incorporated into the new institution. Merger and incorporation are different processes.

PROCESS

The legal process is as follows:

1. The Minister must consult the Council on Higher Education.

2. The Minister gives written notice to the councils of the institutions targeted for merger, giving reasons for his decision. A similar notice is published in local and national newspapers.

3. The institutions have 90 days from the date of that notice in which to comment on the proposals. The above steps have already taken place,and the deadline for submitting comments on the proposals is 4 October 2002.

4. After considering the representations, the Minister will announce the merger by notice in the Government Gazette, including the name and type of the new institution.

5. The institutions have 60 days from the date of the gazette notice in which to forward nominations to the Minister for an interim council for the new institution. [ 南非故事 Cooltang.com ]

6. The interim council, four members and a chair, is appointed by the minister. Staff and students of the institutions may not be nominated to this body.

7. The interim council is appointed for no longer than 6 months, but the Minister may extend their term for another period not exceeding 6 months.