UCT defends race policy
2008-09-11 09:17
Cape Town - The University of Cape Town says its admissions policy is aimed at offering education opportunities to a full range of students, and redressing past inequalities.
It was responding to a statement from FF-Plus Western Cape leader Corne Mulder who handed over a memorandum to UCT registrar Hugh Amoore.
He said university guidelines laid down that prospective black medical students had to have a 74% senior certificate pass, coloureds 78%, Indians 88% and whites 91%.
The party found this unacceptable since it applied to students who were born in 1990, after the release of former president Nelson Mandela, and attended the same schools with the same opportunities.
Meets legal requirement
Amoore said in a later statement that the policy met the legal requirement for redress of past educational inequalities.
It reflected the university's commitment to offering education opportunities to a full range of students who were best positioned to gain quality education.
"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," he said.
All students at UCT exited as graduates on the same standard.
- SAPA