On 10 May 2017, the North-West University (NWU) received allegations of plagiarism against some of our academics based on our campus in Mahikeng, from the Council on Higher Education. We view these allegations in a very serious light, hence we have instituted vigorous processes to determine their authenticity before making any pronouncements.

Immediately after the allegations were received, the university commenced with a investigation. We anticipate the investigation to be concluded within the next few weeks and commit to make an announcement once we receive a final report.
 
The university respects the rights of all academics who are alleged to have been involved in plagiarism and would like to treat the matter confidentially until the process has been concluded. We urge our stakeholders and the public to allow us the space to conduct a fair but thorough investigation in strict compliance with our policies and the laws of our country. All the academics remain innocent until proven otherwise.
 
We condemn in the strongest terms any acts of plagiarism by anyone associated with the university and if proven true, the involved parties will be dealt with in accordance with university disciplinary measures.

During the extraordinary meeting of the NWU Council on Thursday, 17 August 2017, Council also raised its concern regarding the allegations of plagiarism levelled against some academics at the NWU, and appreciated that the university management has initiated an investigation that is focusing on specific cases that were reported since May 2017. Taking into consideration the seriousness of these allegations and its potential to damage the NWU’s reputation, Council has resolved to commission a broad-scale investigation to look into the issue of alleged plagiarism across the entire university.