Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande has appointed an independent assessor to investigate the ailing Walter Sisulu University (WSU).
Nzimande's intervention follows letters that the WSU council, unions and students wrote in May asking for an urgent solution to the cash crisis , the Dispatch Online reported on Friday.
Some called for the merger that led to the establishment of WSU to be reversed, while others called for the appointment of an administrator.
With close to 24,000 students at campuses in Mthatha, East London, Berlin, Queenstown and Butterworth, WSU has been hit by a financial crisis admitted by both vice-chancellor Professor Marcus Balintulo and council chairperson Dr Somadoda Fikeni.
Department of Higher Education spokesman Muzi Khumalo confirmed Nzimande's intervention, but said that the department was still in "a process of identifying a suitable person".
He said that after the assessor had been identified, he or she would be introduced to the university community.
The assessor would then stay at the university for two weeks, and report back to Nzimande within that period.
"Once the assessor's report has been received by the minister, the recommendations will be analysed and a decision will be made around the way forward," Khumalo said.
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