Professor at centre of plagiarism allegations quits
Professor Viktor Verijenko, who supervised the thesis which Chippy Shaik allegedly plagiarised to receive his 2003 doctorate, became the first casualty of the saga yesterday when he tendered his resignation as head of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) School of Mechanical Engineering.
Verijenko, who is on a year-long sabbatical in Australia, has contacted the university\'s leadership indicating his intention to resign, according to a report in The Witness. UKZN spokesperson Professor Dasarath Chetty could not confirm whether Verijenko\'s resignation had been accepted. However, he said a hearing into the allegations was on the cards. According to an investigation, Verijenko and his colleague Professor Sarp Adali supervised the thesis which featured work from other authors without citations or acknowledgements. Furthermore, notes the report, it is believed the thesis is riddled with fundamental errors. Chetty on Monday said UKZN had not come to a conclusion. However, a number of the allegations levelled against Shaik and the two professors have been substantiated, therefore it had to be probed.
Full report in The Witness
The Scorpions have denied that they tipped off the university about the alleged plagiarism. The plagiarism allegations were brought to the attention of the University\'s Higher Degree Committee a few months ago. According to an SABC News report, Yunus Shaik, Chippy\'s brother, described the plagiarism claims as absurd and said they were an attempt to malign the Shaik brothers integrity
Full SABC News report