2 students who successfully sued UL over unfair deregistration tell of severe impact institution had on lives

JOHANNESBURG - Two master’s degree students who successfully sued the University of Limpopo for unfair deregistration said their lives had been severely impacted by the institution.

The Limpopo High Court set aside a decision by the institution to terminate the studies of Ntando Mnguni and Philisiwe Cele.

The institution said it only found out two years into their studies that they did not meet the general admission requirements to its master’s programme for information sciences.

Before her deregistration, Cele received provisional acceptance to do her PhD at the University of South Africa (UNISA).

At the time, both Cele and Mnguni had completed their thesis and were recommended for graduation by their supervisors.

Mnguni said while she was happy about the court judgment, she was frustrated that it took more than two years.

"The journey to this point has been long and emotionally taxing, but I am grateful the court recognised the importance of fair treatment and accountability. This ruling brings hope that I can finally get the degree I have worked so hard for."

The Limpopo High Court has ordered the institution to make a fresh determination on its decision to refuse to award the students their master’s degrees.

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