The commission of inquiry into alleged racism at Stellenbosch University relied heavily on the views of management and failed to reflect the “lived experience” of the affected community.
DA MP Leon Schreiber said this on Thursday, adding retired judge Sisi Khampepe had acknowledged in her report that despite providing “several reminders” inviting students and staff to participate in confidential interviews about issues on campus, only 22 voluntary submissions were received.
“With over 33,000 students and staff members, this means that less than 0.7% of the Stellenbosch University (SU) community were sufficiently concerned about problems on campus to even bother approaching the commission,” he said.
According to the findings, the university has made impressive theoretical strides towards transformation but these do not translate into the lived experiences of students and staff.
“In other words, although the university appears to have in its arsenal a formidable transformation apparatus, black students and staff members still feel unwelcome and excluded at the university,” the report read.
The commission started work on June 13 and recently presented its report to the university. The investigation started after two racist incidents at the university in May.
Schreiber, however, maintains the inquiry — which equated the Afrikaans language with racism in its findings — “only interviewed a grand total of one bona fide witness during its proceedings” yet characterised the town of Stellenbosch as being “home to many conservative, typically White Afrikaners who bear racist and other bigoted beliefs and attitudes”.
“Out of the 22 people who made voluntary submissions, only a single witness was ever invited to provide oral evidence. An overwhelming 99.3% of the SU community therefore did not even bother to engage with the commission at all, meaning that its report does not reflect the 'lived experiences' of 99.3% of SU students and staff members.”
Rector Wim de Villiers and his management team, he said, had provided a list of suggested witnesses, including students and members of staff and management, “who in its view could provide relevant evidence”.
“Khampepe ended up interviewing a grand total of only 47 people — 46 of whom did not voluntarily come forward out of concern with the commission’s work, but on the instruction of their bosses in university management. Some of the interviewees were even members of management themselves.
“They also fed the commission with documents, apparently to ensure that it reaches the predetermined objective of equating Afrikaans with racism as a pretext to erase the language from the university,” Schreiber alleged.
De Villiers said after receiving the report the university had requested the inquiry as part of its commitment to root out racism and discrimination.
“This is a sobering moment for the university. It is evident black staff members and students do not feel welcome here, despite our deliberate transformation efforts to date,” he said.
“We must face the reality that there is a gap between our intentions with regards to transformation initiatives and the implementation thereof. We have to work hard to align our institutional commitments with what is happening in practice and on ground level.”
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'Khampepe report does not reflect lived experience at Stellenbosch University', says DA MP
Image: Stellenbosch University
The commission of inquiry into alleged racism at Stellenbosch University relied heavily on the views of management and failed to reflect the “lived experience” of the affected community.
DA MP Leon Schreiber said this on Thursday, adding retired judge Sisi Khampepe had acknowledged in her report that despite providing “several reminders” inviting students and staff to participate in confidential interviews about issues on campus, only 22 voluntary submissions were received.
“With over 33,000 students and staff members, this means that less than 0.7% of the Stellenbosch University (SU) community were sufficiently concerned about problems on campus to even bother approaching the commission,” he said.
According to the findings, the university has made impressive theoretical strides towards transformation but these do not translate into the lived experiences of students and staff.
“In other words, although the university appears to have in its arsenal a formidable transformation apparatus, black students and staff members still feel unwelcome and excluded at the university,” the report read.
The commission started work on June 13 and recently presented its report to the university. The investigation started after two racist incidents at the university in May.
Schreiber, however, maintains the inquiry — which equated the Afrikaans language with racism in its findings — “only interviewed a grand total of one bona fide witness during its proceedings” yet characterised the town of Stellenbosch as being “home to many conservative, typically White Afrikaners who bear racist and other bigoted beliefs and attitudes”.
“Out of the 22 people who made voluntary submissions, only a single witness was ever invited to provide oral evidence. An overwhelming 99.3% of the SU community therefore did not even bother to engage with the commission at all, meaning that its report does not reflect the 'lived experiences' of 99.3% of SU students and staff members.”
Rector Wim de Villiers and his management team, he said, had provided a list of suggested witnesses, including students and members of staff and management, “who in its view could provide relevant evidence”.
“Khampepe ended up interviewing a grand total of only 47 people — 46 of whom did not voluntarily come forward out of concern with the commission’s work, but on the instruction of their bosses in university management. Some of the interviewees were even members of management themselves.
“They also fed the commission with documents, apparently to ensure that it reaches the predetermined objective of equating Afrikaans with racism as a pretext to erase the language from the university,” Schreiber alleged.
De Villiers said after receiving the report the university had requested the inquiry as part of its commitment to root out racism and discrimination.
“This is a sobering moment for the university. It is evident black staff members and students do not feel welcome here, despite our deliberate transformation efforts to date,” he said.
“We must face the reality that there is a gap between our intentions with regards to transformation initiatives and the implementation thereof. We have to work hard to align our institutional commitments with what is happening in practice and on ground level.”
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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