Response from UCT to article by James Myburgh

Mr Myburgh's article "Racial quotas at UCT", Politicsweb, 12 May 2011, refers.

Mr Myburgh implies that the University of Cape Town's values have changed since 1994 because we now ask (not require) students to identify themselves under racial classifications. He further insinuates that we have adopted an "ANC driven African nationalist" and racist agenda instead of speaking out against it and that this represents a profound intellectual failure on the part of the University.

Mr Myburgh is guilty of simplifying the issue of the use of racial categories to such an extent that it results in erroneous logic. UCT's values have not changed. It is precisely because of our values and belief in equality of all that we feel committed to the admissions policy we have.

It is because we acknowledge the damage history has done to the majority of people in our country that we are attempting to address those inequalities that still persist today. It is because of our understanding that the "bantu education" of the apartheid era is still not eradicated - nor are its consequences - that we are attempting to do something, no matter how hard or imperfect it might be.

It is because of our values that we acknowledge that it would be utterly unfair to insist that all students (despite the terrible inequality of their educational background) should compete on symbols alone. It is because we believe in the positive essence of cultural diversity that we attempt to ensure it in our classrooms.     

Mr Myburgh ignores the fact that UCT has continuously said that the use of racial categories is not ideal. We understand the negative consequences it has and the stereotypes it can create. We understand that black and white alike find it undesirable.

We adopted the policy reluctantly. Our admissions policy committee has rigorously examined the alternatives available at present and we are convinced that our policy has the potential to deliver advantages, in terms of transformation, that far outweigh the disadvantages.

Whilst Mr Myburgh continues to raise the issue of the "wrongness" of using race categories in admissions, he has never offered any solution to the complexities we face or illustrated an understanding thereof. 

We are committed to finding alternatives, but these are complex matters and in the interim we believe we are doing the best we can to correct the educational and economic imbalances that were created in South African society as a result of 46 years of apartheid.

Mr Myburgh calls UCT's admissions policy a "profound intellectual failure" and complains that the "contribution of our universities to public debate in South Africa, over the past decade, has been pathetic".

But it is precisely because UCT did not want to make unwarranted assumptions about transformation in South Africa that we embarked on an ongoing investigation into measures of disadvantage - including not only race, household income and school attended, but also the many intermediate determinants of school performance.

It is far more complex than simply saying that ticking a "race" box is good or bad. One reason UCT is speaking so openly about the policy is to generate public debate on the topic.

Mr Myburgh argues that  UCT's admissions policy is similar to the quota systems of Nazis Germany or Tsarist Russia. We do not have a quote system. We set targets that are aspirational, not absolute. The use of the race categories is one element in a range of factors that determine whether a person is given a place at UCT.

The intention of quotas in Mr Myburgh's example was to restrict the representation of a minority group like Jews, based on an attitude by the dominant group in that society of superiority and with the intent to cause harm. The purpose of using race categories in UCT admissions (alongside other factors) is to assist those that were unfairly oppressed and harmed, not to secure privileges for any particular group.

It also needs to be stated that once a student is admitted to UCT, graduation depends solely on merit. UCT's black graduates - many of whom would never have been accepted into university - are making their mark on South African society and are helping to transform this nation and its economy.

If UCT did not apply this admissions policy and there were no other viable and available method - as we believe is currently the case - we might face a scenario where our current class might graduate in 2016, 22 years after democracy, with perhaps 10 percent of the class being black students. The consequences of such a scenario would be intolerable.

UCT reviews our admissions policy annually, backed by our continuing research into the factors discussed above. We recognise the inherent contradictions with the university's commitment towards non-racialism, but for now we believe a race-based admissions policy is what is needed to make non-racialism a reality in South Africa.

UCT's Vice-Chancellor, Dr Max Price, has written on the issue in an article titled: "Is there a place for ‘race' in a university selection policy?" This article, as well as other media coverage of the debate over UCT's admissions policy, is available by visiting www.uct.ac.za and clicking on the box titled: "Admissions Policy Debate".

Gerda Kruger is Executive Director: Communications and Marketing, University of Cape Town

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