UCT response to HETN statement

The statement by Mr Thekisho, Chairperson of the Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN) Board, published on Politicsweb on 2 July 2014, refers. The statement attacks recently announced changes to the 2016 University of Cape Town redress and diversity admissions policy; and includes a personal attack on the university's Vice-Chancellor, Dr Max Price. Both statements require a response.

The HETN attack on the policy misreads both the policy and the motivation for the 2016 change. The policy has three elements: we set minimum academic achievement levels for entry (so that all admitted applicants have a good chance of succeeding); we set targets for admission for each qualification to ensure that we enroll increasing numbers and proportions of black South African students each year; and we determine a policy - an affirmative action policy - for giving advantage in a competitive admissions context to applicants who qualify.

It is this part of the policy that changes in 2016. The successful applicants in terms of this policy, to whom the policy will give a competitive advantage, will be applicants whose parents were classified as Black, Coloured, Indian or Chinese under apartheid. It will also give a competitive advantage to applicants whose home or school background has been disadvantaged. This is not the policy Mr Thekisho describes.

UCT's formulation of this 2016 policy followed public debate and public involvement. Despite this UCT received no formal submission or proposal from HETN. As HETN has not engaged with UCT, and as HETN appears to misunderstand the policy, we will invite Mr Thekisho to meet the Vice-Chancellor and relevant UCT staff to discuss the details and the spirit of the policy.

The personal attack on the Vice-Chancellor is one we deplore. Mr Thekisho writes: "Dr Price, by some twisted logic of Zionism, which most of the world characterizes as a pernicious form of racism, may claim a right to bury his ancestors in ancient Palestine, as an entitlement inherited by race." This is racist and offensive. It does Mr Thekisho and the HETN no credit.

Statement issued by Professor Crain Soudien, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Transformation and Social Responsiveness, UCT, July 3 2014

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