De Jager’s farewell on Thursday was followed by a seemingly cordial joint statement by him and CUT’s council lauding the incumbent’s contributions to the Bloemfontein headquartered institution, since he joined in 2012.

De Jager has been in the spotlight in the last few months following sporadic protests by irate students who amongst others accused him of turning a blind eye to allegations of sexual harassment against his deputy.

He and his deputy were previously suspended for the aforementioned allegations but later brought back to their positions a few months ago. De Jager has declined to comment formerly on the aforementioned allegations.

CUT council chairperson, Matthew Rantso says “Prof de Jager has served CUT admirably in his role as VC under extraordinary challenges facing CUT and the sector. The CUT Council is proud of his contributions, especially his sustained efforts in building external partnerships with government, business, and industry”. 

Rantso adds that under de Jager’s leadership, CUT has made significant strides, including increasing permanently appointed academic staff with doctorates to 40 per cent.

“CUT has also added numerous new academic, research and innovation programmes to its offerings. The process to find a new Vice-Chancellor and Principal of CUT is already underway to realise Vision 2030 stating that “By 2030, Central University of Technology, Free State will be a leading African University of Technology, shaping the future through innovation,” concludes the CUT council chairperson.

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