Aspirant law student wins first court case after WSU admission bungle

If the determination of a prospective Eastern Cape law student to tackle Walter Sisulu University (WSU) in court is any indication, he will make a good lawyer.

Milela Mbana, 17, hauled the institution before the high court in Mthatha after an admission bungle. The court ruled in his favour this month and slapped the WSU with the legal costs.

Mbana approached the Mthatha high court on an urgent basis, arguing that the institution and its registrar Lulamile Ntonzima’s conduct of allocating his space for the Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) “to the next deserving student is a violation of his right to further education”.

He further sought an order to confirm that his premature exclusion from the law programme “is in breach of contract”.

The former pupil of St John’s College in Mthatha was 17 years old in July last year when he made an online application for admission to study towards the LLB.

On February 7 he received a letter from WSU informing him he had been admitted to the LLB qualification and that he had to indicate within three days from the date of the letter whether he would be accepting or rejecting the offer.

According to the judgment dated March 7, he called the registrar’s office telephonically on the day he received the letter to confirm that he was accepting the offer.

He also deposited an amount of R4,600 for the registration fee on the same day and requested registration clearance.

Mbana received registration clearance and was able to access the online registration portal.

But his troubles began after numerous attempts to submit his registration failed “as the registration portal indicated that the intake for the bachelor of laws degree programme was full”.

He contended that, after having been offered a space and accepting the offer and complying with all the conditions, “it was unconstitutional and in breach of contract for him to be prevented from registering”.

The judgment stated that his contention was that the university and its registrar “had no right in law to offer his space to another deserving student, except if he had failed to meet the conditions on which he was assured of registration”.

Ntonzima told the court that for the 2023 academic year, the university received 509,000 applications for admission to study various first-year courses while there were only 7,175 spaces available.

The law faculty was only allowed to register 75 first-year students by the department of higher education, which provided funding for the LLB programme.

However, according to the judgment, to increase the number of admissions several initiatives were taken, including increasing the number of admission letters issued to prospective students for the LLB from 103 to 276.

Judge Mbulelo Jolwana said it did not make sense to issue 276 admission letters with no conditions other than the three days within which to register for 75 spaces. 

“Unless, and I hope that is not the case, the university was prepared to play Russian roulette with the career aspirations and the evident thirst and hunger for access to higher education by many young people who are trying to break the generational backbone of poverty, especially among black communities.”

But the university argued that admission to the degree of choice did not guarantee registration because of the limited number of spaces available.

Judge Jolwana said it was undisputable that Mbana attempted to register on the very first day he received the admission letter.

“It is not explained by the respondents [the university and registrar] how and on what basis they allowed the course to become fully subscribed after telling the applicant he had three days to accept the offer by registering.”

The university serves some of the very poor communities in the country, most of whom are trapped in poverty. Their only hope of escaping the shackles of poverty is further education that institutions such as Walter Sisulu University offer.

—  Judge Mbulelo Jolwana

Judge Jolwana said: “It was not open to the registrar to change the clear terms of the offer before the expiry of the three day period by taking the space that the registrar said was available to the applicant and prematurely giving it to the next deserving student.”

“That clearly cannot be so, as doing so would render the letter meaningless. The letter and its contents are binding on both parties. The space of the applicant could only be offered to the next deserving student on the expiry of the three-day period.”

The judgment stated that it was never disclosed to Mbana that there were only 75 spaces that prospective students would be competing for.

“The university and the registrar ignored the three-day period. The registrar, the author of the letter, is a highly educated individual who must be assumed to know what he says in the circumstances in which he operates.”

Judge Jolwana said it was public knowledge that there is a huge demand for education space in public institutions all the way up to tertiary institutions.

“The university serves some of the very poor communities in the country, most of whom are trapped in poverty. Their only hope of escaping the shackles of poverty is further education that institutions such as Walter Sisulu University offer.”

He said he understood Mbana was prevented from registering when his space was taken away from him unfairly.

“He was admitted and told what he needed to do to register. He was also given time frames within which to register.”

He said the unconstitutional conduct of the university and the registrar “was not that of not admitting the applicant when he qualifies to be admitted in terms of the applicable admission criteria”. 

“It is that of unlawfully preventing him from registering within the timelines that the university itself gave to him. He clearly acted with commendable promptitude, only to be told that the university has reached its target. He was never told of any target subject to which he would be prevented from registering even before the expiry of the three-day period if that target is reached.”

Judge Jolwana ruled that the university and Ntonzima’s conduct of excluding Mbana from registering was unlawful and in breach of contract.

They were given two days from the date of the order to assist Mbana to register and both were ordered to pay costs.

Law firm SM Mbalane Attorneys and advocate Sinethemba Vobi, who both represented Mbana, said they welcomed the judgment.

They said Mbana “has weathered many storms with resilience and tenacity and overcome many challenges he faced during his matric year and faced the possibility of not studying in the 2023 academic year”.

They confirmed that Mbana was officially registered by WSU to study the LLB.

“The applicant is more than delighted that he is studying this year.”

WSU spokesperson Mathabo Hendricks said they had already implemented the court order and Mbana was now a registered student.