Walter Sisulu University successfully fended off an urgent court bid by a prospective student after it denied him entry into its 2024 first-year human resources course. The man claimed his rights to education were infringed by the university denying him access to study.
The Eastern Cape High Court dismissed prospective student Nhlanhla Genukile’s case because he “could not provide proof” of some of his claims.
Walter Sisulu University, considered by many to be the main tertiary institution for the former Transkei, lost a similar case last year involving a prospective law student but the court said the evidence in this case was different.
According to Genukile, before January 2024, he completed an online application for a diploma in human resources management at the university. He was subsequently admitted and turned down other offers.
Genukile said a “contract” would come into force between himself and the university provided he pay the R4,800 registration fee. However, he told the court his attempts to pay the fee were unsuccessful because of problems registering through the online student portal.
In January, Genukile said he attempted to speak to Lulamile Ntonzima, the university’s registrar, to no avail.
A short time later, he tried again to register, but was informed by the university the intake for the course was at capacity. Despite acknowledging the offer, the university said it did not have space for him.
Ntonzima explained the numbers the university dealt with to acting judge Donovan Pitt: Walter Sisulu University received about 360,000 applications to study in 2024. Of those, only 31,000 can be admitted. For first-year courses, that number drops to 7,000.
Ntonzima noted that for the millions of people living in the former Transkei, Walter Sisulu University is the “first choice” for tertiary education. Because these people prefer it to the exclusion of other institutions, even those outside the Eastern Cape, this added “more pressure” on the university.
For the course Genukile wanted to study, more than 8,000 people applied and only about 2,400 met the requirements. Even then, there were only 168 positions available.
From there, Ntonzima explained, a selection process subject to space availability must be enforced, which Genukile “does not appear to appreciate”.
Pitt explained all universities were governed by various pieces of legislation and regulations.
A university’s council is empowered by these laws to determine entrance requirements. The judge noted that all the people who applied for the first-year course were told registration “was subject to the availability of space”.
“Even though [Genukile] met the minimum admission requirements,” Pitt concluded, “it was not a guarantee that [he] would be registered at the university.” Meeting the requirements “did not vest [him] with a legal right to be so registered”.
This was the logical conclusion, Pitt said, because there are “substantially more candidates who meet the requirements than there are places in the quota allocated to the university in any year”.
Furthermore, Ntonzima said there was “no proof” Genukile paid the registration fee. Nonpayment is a bar to registration.
Pitt explained that universities published their own rules about policies in line with national laws about how to implement admissions.
Ntonzima told the court that, in the past, courses can be filled within 30 minutes once registration opens in the online portal.
Universities are penalised by the department of higher education if they admit more students than there is space, Pitt said. It would “cripple the university financially to the detriment of all its students” if it registers excess students.
Pitt analysed Genukile’s evidence and found it wanting.
“He does not provide any proof of [payment] attempts,” Pitt concluded. Until payment, there was no contract with the university.
Genukile said he was “barred” from paying but “did not … supply further details of how exactly he was barred”.
Genukile pointed to that decision from the same court in 2023, in which a law student successfully challenged Walter Sisulu University after it barred him from registering for the law degree.
However, said Pitt, in that case, there was proof the student “had actually paid” the fee, whereas it was not the case with Genukile.
As a result, Pitt dismissed his application but made no order as to costs.
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