Nepotism at Stellenbosch University

Cape Town, South Africa

Stellenbosch University’s rector and vice-chancellor, Wim de Villiers, has come under criticism for using his discretionary powers to admit a relative into the university’s medicine program, while a school classmate with higher marks was denied admission.

The relative’s family discovered the relationship by chance, sparking a complaint from the classmate. The university’s executive committee has issued a statement acknowledging the complaint and stating that the rector will review the guidelines for discretionary placements under the admissions policy.

This issue follows a finding by the South African Human Rights Commission that De Villiers violated the rights of Afrikaans speakers by requiring English-only language use during certain university activities. A motion of no confidence in De Villiers is expected to be tabled at the next council meeting by the Democratic Alliance’s Leon Schreiber.