Academics may criticize Management

The recent SA defamation case, Chetty v Adesina, was dismissed by Judge Fronemann, who declared academic freedom "would include an unfettered debate on issues surrounding the autonomy of a university and the roles that managerial and academic staff, respectively, should play".

Darasath Chetty, executive director of public affairs at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, had sent round a email to all staff at the time of the 2006 industrial action ( by NTESU and other unions) forbidding any comment by UKZN employees to the Press. This was regarded as a gagging order. Jim Adesina, a professor at Rhodes, then wrote a public letter to the S.A. Association of Sociology stating that this “imposed a gag on the intellectual community" and and was "grave and present danger to the essence of a university", thus criticizing Chetty, a prominent member of the Association of Sociology, and the convener of the international conference of the association in Durban. Chetty then brought the case of defamation against Adesina.

This judgement in the S.A. courts has been welcomed around the world at a time when academic freedom is being threatened by managerialism. It means that University staff, as intellectual leaders in society, have the right to speak out publicly not only from within their specialist discipline, but also “speak the truth to power”, including the power of University management.

Adesina should be congratulated on being prepared to bear the costs in time and money of this litigation. But NTESU is watching with growing concern the cost of such litigation, where Management is just prepared to outspend employees. It is alleged that the Chetty’s legal costs were borne by UKZN, and not in his private capacity.