MANY radicals claim that the University of Cape Town (UCT), and our other leading universities, are not genuine African universities because they are fragments of western intellectual systems that have embedded themselves in Africa. They reflect US and European liberal and rational values and, as a result, many African students find UCT a profoundly alienating experience.UCT operates like almost all quality western universities: academic staff are recruited largely on the basis of academic credentials. However, given our apartheid legacy, when black and white candidates apply for the same position, the black candidate will get the job if he or she is roughly competitive with the best white candidate. At the level of entry to graduate study, the best candidates will be accepted irrespective of colour or gender. Only in exceptional circumstances will nonacademic factors be taken into consideration.Real power at graduate level lies with faculties and departments, which dominate the sen...
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