Monday could see a shake-up in the leadership at the University of Stellenbosch when vice-chancellor Wim de Villiers faces a vote of no confidence.
This is in the wake of an alleged nepotism scandal in which his nephew and another close relative had special places made available for them to study for a highly sought-after medical degree.
Only 2.5% of the 12,000 applicants for the MBBCH degree get a spot, while the vice-chancellor's nephew — whose marks fell far short of even those on the bottom of the waiting list — was given a place under the VC's discretionary powers.
The VC then came forward to admit that another of his relatives had been placed in a previous year.
On Friday the university’s convocation, made up of graduates, staff and retired staff, submitted a motion in support of the vote of no confidence, but the final decision lies with the university council.
In the motion, the convocation requested that both De Villiers and registrar Ronel Retief resign as they “are not able to deny their involvement in a serious instance of nepotism” and that “such behaviour is particularly unacceptable given the extreme levels of corrupt leadership in the country”.
The Sunday Times is in possession of a letter from acting chair of council Nicky Newton-King in which the first case of alleged nepotism — which the VC himself flagged after the second case arose — is confirmed.
The two confirmed cases of nepotism we know about make a mockery of the VC’s self-declared commitment to transformation and inclusivity
— University council member Leon Schreiber
Newton-King wrote: “I wanted to let you know that the vice-chancellor has drawn my attention to the fact that he used his Rector’s Discretionary Placement to place another relative into a programme at Stellenbosch University”.
The university turned down an applicant who had an average of 90% for matric, with the person being told this fell 2% short of the average of “the last person on the waiting list”.
The applicant then became aware of a classmate — also white — who received a place despite achieving an average of 85%. On further investigation, it was revealed that the successful applicant was given one of the three “discretionary” spots that the VC can allocate.
The family of the whistleblower describes this as an act of “gross nepotism” that “involves an abuse of power”.
The place was subsequently withdrawn but the whistleblower’s family said its focus of concern “was the thousands of other applicants on the waiting list ahead of the VC’s nephew”.
The days leading up to the pending meeting have caused strife on campus.
University council member Leon Schreiber, who has called for a vote of no confidence in the VC, told the Sunday Times: “The two confirmed cases of nepotism we know about make a mockery of the VC’s self-declared commitment to transformation and inclusivity. The abuse of discretionary admissions powers not only clearly violated the university’s nepotism policy, but also benefited two close relatives at the expense of other applicants who happen to be unrelated to De Villiers.”
He said other applicants were “not only more deserving of admission, but many of them were from far more disadvantaged backgrounds”.
He added: “This raises serious questions about the extent of this practice by the VC,” and said it was in the best interests of the institution for De Villiers to step down. He called for a “comprehensive investigation” into the “extent of this nepotism”.
Former public prosecutor Thuli Madonsela, who works at the university, came out in support of the vice-chancellor, saying the “complaining student” had not applied for one of the discretionary placements in the MBBCH — but a leader in the student representative council (though speaking in his own capacity), William Sezoe, said this was irrelevant.
He said the VC’s discretionary powers did not include making provision for family members and this placement “should not have happened” as those discretionary places are not meant for students from advantaged backgrounds.
This is against a backdrop of the fierce competitiveness to get into medical degree programmes at South Africa's top universities.
The University of Cape Town received 12,012 applicants for the MBBCH degree in 2022 and 11,907 the previous year. Only 240 spots are available and the vice-chancellor has no discretionary powers to admit an applicant into the programme.
Shirona Patel, spokesperson for Wits University, said the institution received 10,995 applications for the 2021 academic year. The next year it was up to 14,293 and for this academic year it received 19,395 applications.
“About 160 additional students are accepted via the Graduate Entry Medical Programme annually, which attracts an additional 2,500 applicants who have completed another undergraduate degree,” she said.
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