UCT defends race policy: News24: SouthAfrica: News

henry 9/11/2008 9:31:15 AM

Because it's against whites, and in this country black people can't be racist. This just promises to help divide people more, and basically means no one will use black professionals as they substandard.

Dieter 9/11/2008 9:31:42 AM

Does the UCT in this policy say that the different races have different intellectual levels?

HolaHola 9/11/2008 9:32:30 AM

I didn't know of the admission policy at UCT was like that. I think it's basis should not be on skin colour but on the type of high schools people went to. The release of Mandela doesn't necessarily mean that everything is equal instantaneously. That's bull. The policy might seek to slowly make it easier for people who went to poorer schools to get into university.

gatvol 9/11/2008 9:34:47 AM

And yet everyday we read about shortage of skills, loss of doctors, teachers and other skilled workers abroad .... and they wonder why ?! I hope it's ok to tell patients they have a 74%, 78%, 88% or 91% of survival when they're laying in a critical condition

Tebogo 9/11/2008 9:34:57 AM

So what they are saying is that i'm less intelligent than any other race then? ....same opportunities and all ? ....doesnt seem right?

Eugene 9/11/2008 9:35:03 AM

If this isn't blatant discrimination, what is?

Nick 9/11/2008 9:35:07 AM

And people wonder why we would rather go to a white doctor

George 9/11/2008 9:40:30 AM

So now I question any black doctor where they got their degree from and if it is from UCT , I shall ask for a White or Indian Doc , cause I am sure that they probably did not scrape by or were pushed through for quotas. So if i do that I am not racist , I just want better percentage chance of staying alive.

james 9/11/2008 9:40:31 AM

so according to the article: whites need 91% and blacks 74% to qualify. It also says "The aim is to deliver a class in which the best white students win places, and in which the best black African, Indian and coloured students do so too". Does this not imply that whites are smarter than the rest? ie. only the best blacks are accepted with 74% and the best whites at 91%. Why not 91% for all? read between the lines ppl!!

Big Dog 9/11/2008 9:42:33 AM

Whilst I do not disagree that past imbalances need to be adressed, lowering standards (for some) is not the right way to do it. UCT is the ONLY SA university left on the list of the world's top 200 universities and it is in...you guessed it...200th place (at at the end of 2007). It's only a matter of time before it slips off altogther and a UCT degree is worth nothing internationally like the rest of SA's varsities are right now.

Juan 9/11/2008 9:43:36 AM

So basically with the different pass marks for different races, the university ADMITS that there is a corrolation between intelligence and race? - Since '94 EVERY RACE in SA had the SAME education opportunities, so WHY discriminate?

ironic 9/11/2008 9:44:33 AM

If we take Amoore's statement on face value, it meens that white students are better than "the best black African" students, since they expect more from the whites. If I was a black student, I would object to this policy, which is nothing less than racisim towards blacks, implying that they cannot score as high as whites. Shame on you UCT !

JCS 9/11/2008 9:44:49 AM

Who wants to have a doctor who only had a 74% pass rate at school. He/she will most probably only get a 50% pass rate at varcity also. No Thank you!!!

Mart 9/11/2008 9:46:12 AM

74% for black students, 91% for white students? The past is not a sufficient excuse to justify this. But then again it is SA.

a van greu 9/11/2008 9:46:26 AM

this is nonsense. I would hate to be admitted as a black and my % is 90% + and being thought of been there with a 74% pass. How long do we have to live with race inferiourism

Baboon 9/11/2008 9:46:49 AM

I wonder if anyone at UCT has the lights switched on in the upper story? Am I the only one to see that this will mean any white medical students will almost certainly be the top of each graduation year? It'll become a case of 'if you want the best doctor, make sure they are white.' There will of course be some equally good black doctors - but there'll be many more rotten ones. This 'gifted' social engineering will reinforce a false image of a black lack of competance

Matthiam Hoffman 9/11/2008 9:47:24 AM

..equal than others? Did they all not have the same school curriculum and write the same final Grade 12 exams? People want to be recognised (admitted) on merit and not colour. Sure inequalities of the past need to be addressed but why again have it based on colour? Has all blacks had an inferior education, has all whites had a superior education? Especially since prospective students born in 1990 were exposed to the same schooling? University is not a right but a privilege!

David 9/11/2008 9:48:34 AM

The UCT's policy a typical example of how black students see the white students as a threat.It happens with sport,studies,jobs etc.Black people will never have the same abilities as whites and therefore they always have to create unfair opportunities to advance themselves.Look at all the inventions in the world and show me how many of them were invented by blacks.It makes you think doesn,t it?How many countries in Africa governed by blacks are successfull? None so what is the conclusion???

Mike Alpha 9/11/2008 9:50:19 AM

This should be contested under the Sadcc treaty signed by South Africa which under Article 6 of the regional treaty bars member states from discriminating against any person on the grounds of gender, religion, race, ethnic origin and culture. There are currently cases being heard in connection with the forced removal of white ffarmers in Zimbabwe and it looks likely the farmers will win the case. It is time for all the high ideals enshrined in the African constitutions to be tested

Mike McWilliams 9/11/2008 9:52:11 AM

I suppose that this simply formalises that "Bell Curve" IQ distribution curve between the races. However, if my maths is correct, it designates a 19% lower IQ to blacks compared to whites on average. I was under the impression that this figure would be closer to 15%.Is this 19% figure not a little insulting to the previously disadvantaged community?

Andy 9/11/2008 9:57:27 AM

Different standards "In", same standard "Out"..why the racist policy?

JohnS 9/11/2008 9:59:21 AM

This is absolutely ridiculous. I have no problem with scholars getting into medical school with an average of 91% but then it must apply to all. The average difference between black and white acceptances is 17%. That is huge. They are rewarding mediocrity. Blacks now don't need to work as hard as whites in school because they know their will be accepted with only a 74% average. This also reflects badly on the blacks that did get 90%+. We need doctors but we need the cream of the crop to study.

Obie 9/11/2008 10:02:20 AM

All students exit on the same standard... must be a lower standard if you expect those with a 74% pass rate to complete the same exams as those with a 91% pass rate... Amoore is insulting black people by claiming "the best black African" students only need 74% pass rate... is he implying they are not capable of obtaining 91% ?? Just checking where the logic comes from... I know which doctors I would chose for my treatment...

James 9/11/2008 10:02:58 AM

Funny, if this kind of rubbish was implemented before, the black community would have howled their disgust. But then there are no black racists.

john t 9/11/2008 10:03:23 AM

for anyone. It does not help unite the country, nor does it help black people, as who is going to want to go to a black professional if you are being told they are inferior?

Casper 9/11/2008 10:09:55 AM

I think this policy is racist, not because it discriminates against whites, but it implies that blacks are inferior to all the other races, and whites are superior to all the other races. It implies that UCT thinks all the other races are not good enough and therefore have to artificially enhance their opportunity to be able to compete. Somewhat condescending to especially black people

Raymond Hocknell 9/11/2008 10:12:59 AM

Am I the only one who thinks something is seriously wrong here? So, potentially, I should check a doctor's degree before being treated as doctors of colour graduating from UCT are behind the advantage line, so to speak, before they even start studying? I'd rather have the doctor that got 91% please. Or am I missing the point?

Honest 9/11/2008 10:16:26 AM

is that the white doctors that will come out of UCT are arguably more intelligent and higher achievers than all other doctors that come out of there.

Ikey 9/11/2008 10:16:42 AM

Bunch of racists! I am extremely ashamed to be an ex-ikey today! My children will never live/work/study in this country! They will take their skills and money to a country that wants them!

Neil 9/11/2008 10:18:10 AM

Obviously they won't see this as racism, to most black people in SA there is no such thing as black on white racism only white on black.

Phumba 9/11/2008 10:19:11 AM

If they had stated that 65% of new students had to be black, 20% colored etc. I would agree that they were addressing past equalities. Fact is, thanks to our failed education system, not enough blacks are matriculatng with the previous entry requirements.

HappyGoLucky 9/11/2008 10:20:11 AM

This policy means that not even the government believes in the ability of black children to do well at school.

Skande 9/11/2008 10:21:26 AM

You are racists UCT, every person needs the same mark to qualify end of story. Now you wonder why people would rather see a white doctor than a black (which now includes the actual black person who did make the required 91% and gets their names drag down due to your racist requirements). And now this person seeking a white doctor (due to knowing they have a 20% better mark) is called a racist, just because they want a better chance to survive an operation. Stop YOUR racist shit UCT!!

Voice in the dark 9/11/2008 10:22:10 AM

Black is obviously the new white.

Jen 9/11/2008 10:22:53 AM

Answer is simple - don't ever get treated by any other than a white doctor - at least you'll know he's well qualified!!!

Willem 9/11/2008 10:25:29 AM

I am white 28 years old and currently re-doing Matric to become a dentist,why now from a 75% ave do i now need 91% ,UCT i think you need to re look your so called racial policy i find it deeply offensive knowing that i am being judged on the colour of my skin.Also if i was a black student i would feel quite ashamed that UCT puts me at the bottom of intelligence list by me only needing 74% vs.Indians Colourds and whites to get in.id feel like the university believes that other reces are Brighter

Peter Coetzee 9/11/2008 10:25:41 AM

This policy does not make sense. A student with a pass rate of 74% has on average a lower intellectual capacity than one with a 91% pass rate. There could possibly have been reasons why an individual student could only manage 74%. The concern is that in all liklihood (on average)that the student that achieved 74% will achieve a lower pass rate in his tertiary studies and produce lower quality standards. This can only be seen as a dumbing down process only applicable in Africa.

Brian 9/11/2008 10:25:45 AM

How stupid is this!? By lowering the entry requirements, you are in effect increasing the percentage of lower calibre students... these students become doctors and have a MAJOR impact on SA's healthcare. I don't care if they are black or white. Make the entrance 85% for all races and stop with this nonsense of preferential treatment for one race / discrimination of another.

HVR 9/11/2008 10:26:42 AM

White students are the cleverest, then indian, then coloured and black students the stupidest. If they want to give students from all SOCIAL classes the same chance they should ask students for proof of their social standing. That way STUDENT from a poor informal settlement only need 74% and STUDENTS from richer social standing (say he/she went to school at a formaer model C school) needs 91%.

Steve 9/11/2008 10:26:46 AM

example of the back racists against the white minority. This is the route africa will follow. Blacks 74% whites 91%. What makes AFRICA think a white person who gains 91% will STAY here! ^&%$#racist pigs!

Jan 9/11/2008 10:27:29 AM

At least now I know to ask future doctors if they attended UCT, depending on race it will be easy to determine their level of skill. Why dont they just handout the qrade? Why bother to do the entire course?

Eugene Hamman 9/11/2008 10:35:31 AM

How can they say this is not racist. If you did this the other way around, the ANC would probarly have demanded to close the University. This is ridicilous.

anon 9/11/2008 10:36:53 AM

Personally if I was black I would be embarassed and call this rascist as it implies I must be dumber than the other races. Also personally I will no longer consult with doctors other than white ones as i can be guaranteed of their qualification and not of others. it is a pity as this might make me pass up on a really good doctor of colour, but i def would rather have a 91% student diagnosing me than a 74% student. 9% chance of mis-diagnosis as opposed to 26...no contest.

Ryan 9/11/2008 10:37:52 AM

Look the bottom line is that for whatever reason, though im sure we all know what it is, whites will achieve higher grades than blacks coloureds etc. that by NO MEANS should exclude a white who gets better marks than a black and doesnt get in to medicine. Chances are someone with a 74% pass wont finish medicine anyway, it is a very difficult degree.SA Medical profesion already in tatters and now we excluding ppl based on colour, thats intelligent!!

discouraged coloured mom 9/11/2008 10:42:21 AM

Uct's admission and bursary policy stinks.We are a coloured family with no extra money to pay for studies.Our daughter is not an A student but she is very hardworking and wants to be a physiotherapist.UCT can't yet confirm her acceptance but they confirmed that she can't get a bursary.How poor and black/coloured must we be to get help?How will our children get opportunities in this country if only certain people get preference? And yes, we know UCT have preferences!

Jacques 9/11/2008 10:48:36 AM

They are only admitting that they cannot compete on an even basis.

Danie Minnaar 9/11/2008 10:49:51 AM

I believe that this UCT race policy is utterly ridicules! What are they trying to ?redress?? I would have been appalled if I were ?Black?, ?Coloured? or ?Indian?! It sounds like the UCT is actually saying that white students are the cleverest, Indian students second best, Coloured students third and sorry ?Black? students ? you are still the dumbest! What impact does this have on (false) advertising UCT ?non white? medical students? They are categorised before they even start practicing ? will this be a classification of them as doctors one day as well? These students are now all seen as equal ? I have experience of that. I was a mathematics lecturer in the mid nineties and all my students were ?Black students?. I prefer to refer to them as ?Zulu, Xhosa, Tswana, N Sotho, Venda students etc.? There was nothing wrong with their abilities ? even though they grew up under apartheid. My sons play chess and the highest ranked player in Africa is a ?Black? man. We all have a very high regard of him. There are a lot of ?Black?, ?Coloured? and ?Indian? chess players ? very successful as well. So what is UCT saying? Is it that white students are not really welcome any more or are they suggesting that the educational system under the ANC is working as well as expected?

byron 9/11/2008 10:50:17 AM

ok so we clearly are still dwelling in the past, this is definately reverse racism at its best . how can students that were not even part of apartheid still be victimised?the varsity says "The aim is to deliver a class in which the best white students win places, and in which the best black African, Indian and coloured students do so too," so does this mean that they think the white students are more intellegent than the rest ,which is why they need 91% as opposed to 74% .

janet 9/11/2008 10:50:44 AM

And who is going to determined what you are ? An Indian boy from a private school gets accepted (Medicine, 2009)as a Coloured. If he had to apply as an Indian 88% was needed, now he gets in with 78% ? Fair ?