High Court denies Nzimande leave to appeal in Unisa battle

Nzimande sought to appeal Judge Harshila Kooverjie's order in favour of Unisa, which was handed down in October.

On Friday, the university issued a statement welcoming the order.

This was the fourth consecutive decision in favour of Unisa on whether the university could be placed under administration by the minister.

This comes after the High Court in Pretoria ordered Nzimande to rescind his decision to place the Unisa under administration on Wednesday.

The university filed an urgent application to interdict the minister's decision.

The court found that the decision to appoint an administrator for Unisa was in breach of previous court orders and unlawful.

Governance at the country’s oldest university has been in the spotlight over the past few months amid claims of maladministration and tender fraud.

An independent report commissioned by the Department of Higher Education recommended the institution be placed under administration.

Nzimande recently appointed Professor Ihron Rensburg as the administrator after dissolving the council of the university.

"This was after the Minister and Unisa had entered into an agreement where the Minister undertook not to appoint an Administrator for Unisa, pending the outcome of the court application by Unisa to review and set aside the report of the Independent Assessor, Professor Themba Mosia, which agreement was made the order of the court," UNISA said in a statement.

"After listening to both parties, Judge Kooverjie dismissed the application by Minister Nzimande for leave to appeal her judgment of 6 October 2023, with costs, because the minister's application had no prospects of success, among other reasons.

"Unisa…reaffirms that its relationship with the ministry remains cordial, despite the contestations around the report of the Independent Assessor," the university concluded.

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