Negligent University Denies Young Man His Results and Graduation Despite Court Order

Cursory: Mbali Silimela’s light at the end of the tunnel is getting dim just as he reached the end, courtesy of the incompetence of a teacher in his university. The would-have-been-graduate had noticed that his results were not queued in on time and had requested the University to do so through a judge but they kept delaying things till he went back to court again.

Brown shoes, a navy suit, a white shirt, and a grey tie. That’s the outfit University of Fort Hare (South Africa) student Mbali Silimela bought to wear at his graduation today. But he won’t get to wear that outfit today because he is in a David vs Goliath fight with the university.

Mbali, a 26-year-old young man was a student at the University of Fort Hare and he was studying towards a Bachelor of Education.

He filed a lawsuit against the institution this year because he wasn’t granted the grades he believed he was entitled to since a lecturer failed to mark his assessment in a timely manner. Without a lawyer, he urgently petitioned the Bhisho High Court to reconsider a judgment reached by the university senate.

The sticking point is that Mbali claims in his founding affidavit that the request is for the review and overturning of a decision made by the university’s senate on 2 February 2023 to withdraw or revoke the 57% grade he received in EDW 401, which had been awarded to him by the faculty board and school’s faculty on 12 January 2023.

The institution was mandated by the court to investigate its procedures and adjust his grades. When they didn’t, he returned to court accompanied by Lwazi Dekeda, his new counsel. The presiding judge, Nozuko Mjali, determined that the senate misunderstood what it needed to do in order to comply with the ruling.

“Explicit from the papers is that the late of submission of the Mbali’s 57% mark was not of his own doing but was due to the lecturer, Mr Macanda’s dilatory conduct. Common cause to the parties is that the decision to condone the applicant’s late filing of work was granted on 8 December 2022, a period of five days before the closure of the submission of the marks into the system on 13 December 2022.

“Macanda only marked the applicant’s work on 11 January 2023. This was after a lot of persuasion through a number of emails from Mbali. By then, the entry of marks into the portal had closed and could only be done with the permission of the senate. Had Mr. Macanda acted timeously, there would be no need for the approval of senate for the entry of the altered applicant’s mark into the system.”

On May 9, the court issued a decision ordering the university to publish Mbali’s name among the graduates. The court order that required the university to add Mbali’s name to the list of graduates for this May was then the subject of notice for an application for leave to appeal filed by the university.

The university’s graduation programme started on Monday and the education faculty graduates today. While his fellow classmates are posting

“Wake up Mr West, Mr West, Mr Fresh” on their social media in excitement for today, Mbali wishes he could throw his phone away. Kanye West’s song, Graduation, is the soundtrack of this graduation season countrywide.

“I had already bought bus tickets for my family and friends to travel from KwaZulu-Natal to the Eastern Cape to support me. I had hired the hood and gown, they are here at home, hanging in the wardrobe. Then I bought the graduation [sash]. Now I cannot use them today.

“I wish I could throw my phone away so that I do not see all the status updates on social media because this is very painful for me. Even the people who were going to support me are also prepared but there’s nothing we can do. The university just doesn’t want me to graduate this season.

“At the beginning of the week I was still hopeful, but they made sure to frustrate me further. They filed their notice on Monday and the judge was willing to hear us on Tuesday, still in time for me to graduate. But they said their advocate is sick and their other counsel has a trial.” Even though his tone sounds down, Mbali says he is grateful for his legal team.

“They are willing to fight with me step by step and I appreciate that. I am prepared to see this through, no matter what.

“But for the rest of this week, my plan is to avoid social media. I am happy for everyone, but I am sad for myself. I wish I could experience this milestone and celebrate with them too, today.”

Source: Drum

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