The Minister of Higher Education and Training recently signed the NWU’s new Statute, after which it was published in the Government Gazette. This marks the beginning of a 12-month period during which the university is legally obliged to implement it. Eish! spoke to Prof Marlene Verhoef, institutional registrar, about the process, importance and intricacies of the new Statute.

“The Statute gives birth to structure at the university. It is not just a piece of paper, it has remarkable creative power,” says Marlene. She believes it is a dynamic document which is appropriate and relevant for our time. “It is the result of active consultation and many hours of hard work done by a dedicated team of specialists and legal and constitutional experts. It is a testimony to what the NWU strives to be.”

Prof Marlene Verhoef, institutional registrar, says as a linguist she was amazed at the importance of language while drafting the new Statute. “We had to make sure that every word used was the right word and every comma and punctuation mark was in its right place.”