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News24 reports that the University of SA (Unisa) has found that comments made by a senior lecturer on Twitter were offensive and contained racist undertones and it wants action to be taken against her.
Unisa issued a statement to that effect on Friday, two days after Professor Tracey McKay lambasted National Student Financial Aid Fund (NSFAS) recipients on the social media site. At the time, McKay was responding to a Twitter user who had earlier asked how textbook sales could fall if NFSAS gave students R5,000 to spend on books. She wrote she wished students funded through NSFAS were copying the books, but was sure that the money was being used on "entertainment, wigs, nail polish and other student essentials". She added that "even before this cash payment, the students would buy the books and immediately sell them", further tweeting that the vast majority of students she had taught were the kind that bought wigs. Later, McKay apologised and said she was not thinking straight when she wrote her response and had not meant to offend anybody. In its statement, the university said McKay's remarks were demeaning and derogatory. Unisa's principal and vice-chancellor, Professor Mandla Makhanya, has directed relevant authorities within the university to ensure that urgent action was taken against McKay.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Ntwaagae Seleka at News24
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