January | February | March | April | September | October
Admissions Policy debate
March
| Date | Article/letter | Author | Media |
| 27 Mar |
A matter of colour There has been a lot of media attention in the past week about the University of Cape Town's new admission policy, but it seems that most people don't even recognise how bad it really is. |
DS Bennie | News 24 |
| 27 Mar |
Taking a chance I HAVE been following the recent debate in the Cape Times about the selection of students to UCT. As far as the selection of students for the over-subscribed medical course is concerned, I don't think a "fair" process has yet been devised. |
Dr Ortwin Bock, Rosebank | Cape Times |
| 26 Mar |
Are we forgetting what the point of UCT's affirmative action is? At no point so far have I heard a student from a truly disadvantaged background speak on the UCT admissions policy. The blacks that have spoken on it have largely come from (let's admit it) relatively privileged backgrounds. |
Sipho Hlongwane | Daily Maverick |
| 25 Mar |
Racial quotas Carte Blanche broadcast a segment on the admissions policy. |
Bongani Bingwa (presenter) | Carte Blanche, MNet |
| 25 Mar |
You can't ignore the elephant in the room To spend any amount of time with people who consider themselves liberal, and are fully sentient of the unique circumstances of South Africa, often means being witness to some incredible mental gymnastics. |
Sipho Hlongwane | City Press iMagazine |
| 22 Mar |
UCT unable to accept only top matriculants IT would be impossible for UCT to accept only top matriculants because that would exclude many talented schoolleavers, says vice-chancellor Max Price. |
Michelle Jones | Cape Times |
| 21 Mar |
Students debate UCT policy FAR more disadvantaged black students have benefited from UCT's race-based admissions policy than the few advantaged black students who have been admitted. |
Michelle Jones | Cape Times |
| 21 Mar |
Why race is still needed in UCT admissions Sometimes, it is thought provoking to read what other young people in the country think about the future and the direction the country is taking. |
Khethelo Xulu | Politicsweb |
| 21 Mar |
Rainbow racism rife THE race-based entry policy which most of our universities and institutions of higher education apply is completely racist and against the Constitution |
G-Man | The Citizen |
| 19 Mar |
No hope for some students UCT prof SOME students are so far behind by the time they reach university that there is little point accepting them to study as they are unlikely to succeed, according to UCT philosophy professor David Benatar. |
Michelle Jones | Cape Times |
| 19 Mar |
UCT should admit flaws of its own UCT'S ADMISSION criteria are troublesome for a variety of reasons. How do you justify using the very racial categories we all agreed were unfair to grant preference? |
Siyabulela Nomtshongwana | Cape Argus |
| 16 Mar |
Regulate admission THE ADMISSION issue at UCT, as described on your front page ("UCT entry debate hots up", March 14), should not be kept within UCT's corridors. |
Japhta Maboko, Zonnebloem | Cape Times |
| 16 Mar |
Quota considerations THE Caption to the photograph of Thandiwe Ndlovu on the front page in the lead article in the Cape Times of March 14 ("UCT entry debate heats up") quotes her as saying that UCT currently has a poor ratio of black students. |
Charles Sellick, Gordon's Bay | Cape Times |
| 16 Mar |
UCT failing education People seem unaware of the education crisis that South Africa has on its hands. |
Daniel Pettit, Bishopscourt | Cape Times |
| 15 Mar |
UCT's admissions policy unearths middle-class black angst Social scientists would be hard-pressed to find a better lens into identity, privilege and race in post-apartheid South Africa than the University of Cape Town's admissions policy debate. |
Osiame Molefe | Daily Maverick |
| 15 Mar |
UCT's Max Price to stay in top job MAX Price is to hold the top job at UCT for another five-year term. Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane, chairman of the university's council, announced earlier this week. |
Michelle Jones | Cape Times |
| 14 Mar |
Students slam UCT's selection policy by race UCT has received 85 submissions on its "race-based" admissions policy and says these will now be reviewed by a commission. |
Ilse Fredericks | Cape Argus |
| 14 Mar |
One nation rooted in rights The only way to build a united nation is if each community, be it on political, racial, ethnic or religious lines, makes the defence of the rights of other communities part of its daily life, said DA Parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko yesterday. |
Nontando Mposo | Cape Argus |
| 14 Mar |
Part 2 of 2:UCT students have their say on admission policy At UCT whites are the largest group at 37 percent, and 21 percent are black, 15 percent coloured, 7 percent Indian, 19 percent international and 2 percent no information. |
Michelle Jones/Sihle Mlambo | Cape Times |
| 14 Mar |
Part 1 of 2: UCT entry debate hots up IN the latest move in the debate on UCT's admissions policy, the DA Student's Organisation (Daso) has called for race criteria to be scrapped and replaced with criteria such as students' school background and socio-economic status. |
Michelle Jones | Cape Times |
| 14 Mar |
Robust debate on UCT policy The DA Students Organisation (Daso) has weighed into the debate on UCT's admissions policy, calling for race criteria to be replaced with such criteria as school background and socio-economic status. |
Michelle Jones | The Mercury |
| 14 Mar |
UCT's selection process under fire again UCT's selection process under fire again THE University of Cape Town's controversial admissions policy, which uses the applicants race as part of its selection process, has again come under fire. |
Nashira Davids | The Times |
| 14 Mar |
UCT's argument THE letter by Arthur Wienburg ("UCT denies its non-racial legacy on bridging gaps", March 8) refers. The University of Cape Town has had to consider many issues in drafting our admissions policy, including the issues Wienburg raises. |
Gerda Kruger | Cape Argus |
| 12 Mar |
Fair discrimination is a thorny issue In December South Africa celebrated its 17th Day of Reconciliation and, while some clear progress has been made towards a more cohesive society, strategies for greater economic participation and ownership, workforce transformation and employment equity continue to be controversial and contested. |
Kate Lefko-Everett | Cape Times |
| 12 Mar |
Skewed reading of graduation stats must be set right The anonymous author of "Quotas can't build a future" (March 6) has applied a skewed interpretation of the graduation statistics of students who entered the Bachelor of Architectural Studies (BAS) programme at UCT in 2006. |
Gerda Kruger, UCT | Cape Argus |
| 8 Mar |
UCT denies its non-racial legacy on bridging gaps When A Ismail ("UCT's admissions policy is fair under circumstances", February 24) writes: "To transform the student body, the number of black students enrolled must obviously exceed the number of white students", he seems to suggest a narrow and institutionally based quota system. |
Arthur J Wienburg, Cape Town | Cape Argus |
| 6 Mar |
UCT protests too much That UCT feels the need to respond to almost each negative comment about its admission policy, tells us how defensive they are about the subject. |
Thomas Johnson, Lansdowne | Cape Argus |
| 6 Mar |
Quotas can't build a future Gerda Kruger ("UCT admissions are strictly fair to all", Cape Points, March 2) contradicts her own claim. How can it be fair if only 70 percent of university students are chosen on academic merit? |
Concerned parent, Cape Town | Cape Argus |
| 5 Mar |
Background affects cognitive ability The law of diminishing returns, although primarily an economic theory, can be applied to the field of psychology. A pupil or student who hails from a township or who was deemed previously disadvantaged will deplete his or her cognitive ability on a given day, quicker than a learner or student from a farming community or affluent neighbourhood. |
PhD student, UCT | Cape Argus |
| 2 Mar |
UCT admissions are strictly fair to all Thomas Johnson ("UCT's racebased admissions wrong", Cape Points, February 28) and Discriminated Parent ("PE university gives son something to build on", February 29) together paint a very broad (and inaccurate) picture of the admissions policy at the University of Cape Town. |
Gerda Kruger, UCT | Cape Argus |
| 2 Mar |
Frivolous comparisons to apartheid are the only thing worse than apartheid No one raised an eyebrow at a Democratic Alliance young professionals evening last week when keynote speaker Mamphela Ramphele likened the University of Cape Town’s race-based admissions policy to the apartheid-era pencil test. |
Osiame Molefe | Daily Maverick |
| 1 Mar |
University a privilege Arthur J Wienberg ("Admit admissions policy is skewed", Cape Points, February 22) needs to understand that black doctors are a lot more likely to practise in a black area than white or Indian doctors (who apparently are leaving the country in droves.) |
Terence Grant, Woodstock | Cape Argus |
| 1 Mar |
PE university gives son something to build on In 2007 our son, who is white, applied for admission to the UCT School of Architecture. |
Discriminated parent | Cape Argus |
