- Former UCT department head claims six lecturers helped white students get better marks and punished black students.
- Lecturers allegedly broke exam rules by opening student name stickers during marking to see who wrote what.
A former University of Cape Town employee has spoken out about unfair treatment, saying white students received better marks while black students were deliberately penalised.
Professor Ndangwa Noyoo, who used to run UCT’s Social Development Department, has written a detailed complaint to the Department of Higher Education and Training and the presidency about the alleged corruption, Sunday World reported.
The serious claims are about six lecturers who Noyoo says created unfair treatment that saw black students pushed aside and their marks lowered to benefit white students.
Noyoo became department head in January 2018 and says he immediately went after the problem after black student whistle-blowers came to him with complaints.
“This disturbing trend was spearheaded by the aforementioned six individuals, and most likely, this culture of impunity has not stopped. In most instances, this transgression was done to raise the marks of white students while black students were penalised,” Noyoo said in his written complaint.
The Department of Higher Education and Training has recognised Noyoo as the UCT whistle-blower, with official Mishack Ramoshaba asking him to prove his claims to the presidency on Friday, 18 July.
Ramoshaba’s message referred to complaints of “corruption and maleficence at the University of Cape Town” that had been “aided and abetted by senior administrators at the faculty level”.
Noyoo said that the implicated lecturers broke UCT’s exam rules by opening stickers with student names while marking papers – a clear breach of rules meant to ensure fair and anonymous marking.
The former department head says he caught the wrongdoing through a trap operation with help from a senior administrator.
“After discovering them, they cried foul and rushed to the acting dean of humanities and deputy dean… who protected this group from any disciplinary action,” he said.
One of the most shocking claims is that one lecturer gave top marks to entire master’s classes to make herself popular, completely ignoring department rules.
Even though Noyoo reported these serious problems to the dean, he says there were “no consequences at all” for the guilty lecturers.
Proof includes email conversations from 2019 when Noyoo questioned a strange pattern where all students in a master’s course received top marks.
In an email to course teacher Dr Alvina Kubeka, Noyoo demanded answers: “As the head of this department, I need to have proper information about this trend so that I can respond to queries from faculty, etc.”
Kubeka defended the results, saying they came from the course’s focus on deep discussion and active participation.
“Our daily seminars during the two-week block were stimulating, thought-provoking, and even triggering at times when the whole class got emotional as we reflected on the challenges faced by marginalised youth in South Africa,” Kubeka said.
She praised students’ group talks about national youth policy, but admitted differences in written work showed varying writing skills.
A 2018 email conversation showed more rule-breaking when office worker Marguerite Armstrong caught staff opening exam papers to see student names.
“I have noted the green sticker removed, and the names have been opened. Please, staff, you know you are not allowed to open the scripts to see who the paper is from,” Armstrong wrote.
Senior lecturer Ron Addinall admitted to doing this, saying he had been “doing this for years” to make grade lists and check marks.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said the university noted the serious claims but was not officially aware of any previous investigation by the department.
“UCT, through the office of the vice-chancellor, is at this stage not formally aware of any previous or ongoing investigation by the department,” Moholola said.
The university has started looking into the matter and may launch its own official internal investigation.
Pictured above: University of Cape Town.
Image source: University of Cape Town
