University moves to regain LLB accreditation
Determined to get its law degree re-accredited by next year, Walter Sisulu University (WSU) has roped in internationally acclaimed human rights scholar, academic and lawyer Professor Vinodh Jaichand. A DispatchLIVE report notes Jaichand – previously head of the law school at Wits University – was appointed professor of law in the Department of Legal Studies with effect from 1 November.
The professor’s appointment is one of a number of remedial actions the university has implemented to regain its law accreditation by 2019.
In 2017, the Council for Higher Education stopped the university from offering LLB degrees from January 2019 when it discovered during an assessment of 21 South African universities that WSU had under-qualified lecturers and its lecture halls were not suitable. A university spokesperson said the appointment of senior staff was but one of a number of remedial action steps the university had taken to get the LLB re-accredited.
The university has also reworked the curriculum entirely and the documentation was subject to internal review processes. The report notes WSU hopes to submit the application for re-accreditation before the end of 2018.
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