University autonomy against public accountability at THE employment?

In a famous inaccurate line between institutional autonomy and accountability to the public is the center of attention in South Africa, and Minister of Higher Education Training Dr Blade Nimadi preparing to amend the Higher Education Act in a process that will become public in the new year.
A Higher Education Amendment Bill was tabled in Parliament last Friday after being approved by the Cabinet.
It calls for the government to intervene in the agenda of transformation of universities have appeared more often in recent weeks, which have seen unprecedented student protests throughout the country.

While priority was given to those protests to the pressing question of tuition fees and accessibility of higher education, wider concerns about the slow pace of transformation - including corporate culture, language and curriculum reform - remain ongoing.
Among the decisions coming out of the Second National Summit on Higher Education, organized by the Higher Education and Training Ministry and held in Durban last month was the need for "questioning the balance between institutional autonomy of universities and their public accountability."
Calls for government intervention
The resolution followed repeated calls for more state intervention by student groups and other stakeholders, such as the transformation network for higher education, or HETN, which called for ministerial appointments constitute 50% of university councils.
HETN spokesman Hendrix Macanese last week confirmed his organization's call for the "elimination" of institutional autonomy, he said, University World News, has been used by universities "to hinder the process of transformation."
The network is also calling for individual institutional regulations should be amended so that the transformation becomes a key performance area vice-rectors. The network also wants to see a new way to appoint vice-rectors, with greater emphasis on stakeholder participation.
Frustrated at the perceived slow pace of change, student groups have also expressed their support for more government intervention.
The concluding comments of the summit, South African Students' Union representative Taboo Thothela said, should be introduced indicators of transformation. The previous day, the South African Students Congress, or SASCO, president Ntuthuko Makhombothi institutional autonomy was described as "elephant in the room".
"It is not enough that the Minister can intervene [in institutions], when there are financial problems. He should be able to intervene when the universities fail to transform. Some of them have deliberately refused to be transformed, so that will never happen, "he told delegates.