THE University of Fort Hare has been shocked by a plagiarism scandal.
The assignments of three post- graduate students in the political science department are in question .
Department head Dr Zoleka Ndayi alerted the university saying the assignments had visible cut and paste passages with even different font sizes being used. This led to a special ad-hoc meeting in which it was noted the crisis was leading the department to the “brink of collapse”.
Ndayi apparently noticed the discrepancies and alerted her superior, the dean of the social sciences and humanities faculty, Professor Michael Somniso . Despite this he allowed the students to graduate.
This led to a “war of words” through a series of e-mails and meetings between Ndayi, Somniso and Valery Ferim, the students’ supervisor, and faculty management. The faculty management asked for Ndayi be be sacked as HOD and Ferim continue supervising students.
Other staff members were told to report directly to Somniso rather than Ndayi. Yesterday Ndayi refused to comment and said the university should comment .
“The matter is being dealt with by the university and I am no longer an HOD but I won’t say my demotion was because of this; the university should answer that,” said Ndayi, who said the matter was with the CCMA.
In documents seen by the Daily Dispatch, Ndayi said the students claimed they were allowed to “cut and paste”.
University spokeswoman Zintle Filtane confirmed the plagiarism case and said the university viewed it in a serious light.
“Cases of plagiarism are dealt with by means of counselling and education, rather than simply by imposing sanctions.
“This matter was brought to the notice of the university three days before graduation and an urgent meeting was called. It regretted the HOD had failed to detect the problem in time,” said Filtane.
On Ndayi’s demotion, Filtane said her term had ended.
Last May , a week before graduation, Ndayi called Ferim as “she had serious issues” to address with him.
In an e-mail, Ndayi said she was concerned by the academic credibility of the politics department, the faculty and the institution, as well as the future of the three graduates.
Ndayi questioned how Ferim had allegedly failed to notice the plagiarism . Ferim, in response, questioned the “unprofessional and erratic changes” made by Ndayi in the department.
Ndayi, writing to Somniso, said the rate of plagiarism and the research projects of the students entailed “cut and paste”. “Up to 99% of the dissertation came from online books and articles; in some cases with clear indications of the stolen ideas .”
Ndayi told Somniso she was deeply disturbed when the students said plagiarism had been a norm .
Filtane said the university had its policies and procedures on plagiarism. “The policy emphasises rigour, transparency and fairness in handling allegations of plagiarism. Sanctions for plagiarism cases are severe,” she said.
Yesterday Somniso and Ferim refused to comment. —
Plagiarism charge leads to UFH war of words
The assignments of three post- graduate students in the political science department are in question .
Department head Dr Zoleka Ndayi alerted the university saying the assignments had visible cut and paste passages with even different font sizes being used. This led to a special ad-hoc meeting in which it was noted the crisis was leading the department to the “brink of collapse”.
Ndayi apparently noticed the discrepancies and alerted her superior, the dean of the social sciences and humanities faculty, Professor Michael Somniso . Despite this he allowed the students to graduate.
This led to a “war of words” through a series of e-mails and meetings between Ndayi, Somniso and Valery Ferim, the students’ supervisor, and faculty management. The faculty management asked for Ndayi be be sacked as HOD and Ferim continue supervising students.
Other staff members were told to report directly to Somniso rather than Ndayi. Yesterday Ndayi refused to comment and said the university should comment .
“The matter is being dealt with by the university and I am no longer an HOD but I won’t say my demotion was because of this; the university should answer that,” said Ndayi, who said the matter was with the CCMA.
In documents seen by the Daily Dispatch, Ndayi said the students claimed they were allowed to “cut and paste”.
University spokeswoman Zintle Filtane confirmed the plagiarism case and said the university viewed it in a serious light.
“Cases of plagiarism are dealt with by means of counselling and education, rather than simply by imposing sanctions.
“This matter was brought to the notice of the university three days before graduation and an urgent meeting was called. It regretted the HOD had failed to detect the problem in time,” said Filtane.
On Ndayi’s demotion, Filtane said her term had ended.
Last May , a week before graduation, Ndayi called Ferim as “she had serious issues” to address with him.
In an e-mail, Ndayi said she was concerned by the academic credibility of the politics department, the faculty and the institution, as well as the future of the three graduates.
Ndayi questioned how Ferim had allegedly failed to notice the plagiarism . Ferim, in response, questioned the “unprofessional and erratic changes” made by Ndayi in the department.
Ndayi, writing to Somniso, said the rate of plagiarism and the research projects of the students entailed “cut and paste”. “Up to 99% of the dissertation came from online books and articles; in some cases with clear indications of the stolen ideas .”
Ndayi told Somniso she was deeply disturbed when the students said plagiarism had been a norm .
Filtane said the university had its policies and procedures on plagiarism. “The policy emphasises rigour, transparency and fairness in handling allegations of plagiarism. Sanctions for plagiarism cases are severe,” she said.
Yesterday Somniso and Ferim refused to comment. —
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