When prejudice pretends to be analysis
If you are going to mount an argument that has at least the semblance of intellectual integrity, then the minimum requirement is that it should be factual.
In the past few weeks Daily Maverick and Politicsweb have featured articles, by Ken Hughes and RW Johnson among others, which repeat the calumny that the University of Cape Town is in a state of decline and that it is only a matter of time before it is completely destroyed. According to them, UCT’s research has collapsed, donors are withdrawing funding and alumni are deserting in droves.
Not one fact is advanced to support these spurious claims. Instead, we are subjected to blatant prejudice masquerading as analysis.
Let us just consider some of the facts of UCT’s supposed “decline”:
- UCT is ranked 120 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, by far the highest ranked African university.