Special Hearings — Health Sector Hearings — 1997-06-18

UNKNOWN: Commissioners thank you for giving me the opportunity to submit our submission this afternoon. We had some difficulty getting the necessary information from the archives and from input of various members of the Faculty.
 I would like to start with giving a historical background of the Faculty of Medicine being an Afrikaans or traditional White Afrikaans faculty of medicine and university, and its relationship possibly due to the State.
 In 1954 the general accepted pattern of the primary, secondary education in the country was separatenistic in nature.  At the time it was argued that universities should either be fully integrated or fully separated as a continuation of the apartheid pattern of basic education. These arguments were informed by the political ideologies at the time and in turn served to shape the separatenistic nature of the education at the University of Pretoria until the late 1970's when the people started to realise that this nature of education should change.
 The University of Pretoria was subject to the provisions contained in the Statutes of the Republic of South Africa Education University Act No 61 of 1955 of which a clause pertaining to funds reads as follows:
"Subsidies to the universities:  The Minister in consultation with the Minister of Finance may out of the monies voted by Parliament, for the purpose, grant subsidies to the university....",
and I think I won't go any further.
 The extension of University Education Act No 45 of 1959 affected even greater segregation of university education and it is in my submission.  The University had no option but to conform to the policy regarding the admission of students formulated by the government at that time.  However, in as early as the 1960's the University made available its expertise and lecturers to help institutions serving disadvantaged communities with medical education and in '62 approval was granted for the University to assist in the education of nurses lectures at the University of the North. 
 The Minister of Education and Culture, also in response to a University request, approved the cooperation agreement between the universities in the Transvaal and the Department of Hospital Services with the regard to the training of non-white nurses at the Leboni Nursing College at the Kalefong Hospital. 
 Throughout the years the Medical Faculty, as put forward by my colleague, Professor Price, as such was strongly linked to the Provincial Health Department who was responsible salaries, medical services and hospital policies.  Legislation dating as far back as '57 aimed at separate university education for Whites and non-Whites which contributed determining the nature of medical faculties at the University of Pretoria.
 The policies within the country at the time limited the admission of non-White undergraduate students to the Faculty. Until the '80's the Faculty was not allowed to register non-White students.  This was among others set out in a letter to the principal of the University dated the 29th of August 1983 in which the Minister of National Education indicated that in order to ensure the optimal use of certain training facilities at universities by Black students, it was determined that no Black person could be registered for studies in medicine, dentistry, paramedical courses, nursing, pharmacology, optometry, agriculture, quantity surveying at the University of Pretoria without prior consent of the Minister of National Education for each case.
 The University was requested to bring it to the attention of all Black persons wishing to obtain admission to these courses and to refer them to various specified institutions, namely the Medical University of South Africa, University of Natal, Zululand, Fort Hare and the University of the North.  Unfortunately Chairperson, this meant that the University was prohibited to register Black undergraduate students in the Faculty of Medicine as referred above.
 In the same letter it was indicated in terms of Section 25(2) of the University Act 1955, there would at that stage be no quota for the registration of any students other than White students at the University of Pretoria.  Non-White postgraduates students, however, were admitted to the faculty of medicine at the University of Pretoria from '83 and mainly as I can recall, worked at our Kalefong Hospital.   In December 1985, the University was informed that the provision prohibiting the registration of students in the faculties mentioned above without approval by the Minister was abolished.  However, it was still compulsory for the registration of such students to fall within the quota prescribed in respect of each university by the Minister.  Since '87 the Faculty has actively worked towards ensuring the admission of Black students, a process which included the changing of perceptions within the faculty, taking firm standpoints against any form of racial discrimination and the Faculty also declared itself in favour of academic freedom and non-discrimination. 
 Following this, a policy was issued by the vice-chancellor and principal in 1989, 14th June for the whole University, and I quote,
"The University of Pretoria is an autonomous institution that does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, religion, colour or ethnic origin, aids, physical handicap or in its administration or its education policies, etc".
 In spite of the above statement, the Faculty had limited success in recruiting, and I must stress this Mr Chairman, we had limited success in recruiting Black students, possibly due to our being an Afrikaans faculty in the University and I must point out, at the present time, we as a university are busy with revision of our language policy. 
 And secondly the question of old perception still existed. It possibly explains a time lapse between the first registration of a Black undergraduate student in the Faculty in 1989 and the official approval for the registration of non-white students in 1985.
 In December 1991 the recruitment programme was well underway and in 1992 a total of 54 students from Black communities were enroled at the faculty.  The registration statistics over the period '89 to '96 showed a steady increase in the number of Black students registered at UPM Medical Faculty and in 1996 we had 1437 Black students in our Faculty of Health Sciences.  
 The policies had an input in student admission Chairman. Black students were only admitted in the 1980's as referred to you earlier on.  Since then there has been no discrimination against students who did enrol, and no additional limitations were placed on people. Concern expressed in '92 regarding the admission of Black students who were not as well prepared as their White counterparts to reserved position in the Faculty of Medicine at UP were noted by the Principal and Council.  However it was pointed out that University was obliged to reserve a number of positions in the Faculty of Medicine for Black students in order to render a proper service to the wider community and to ensure that it does not remain an all White faculty.  And I'd like to refer to that as to what we call a category for our disadvantaged students and for the current situation we've got between 50 and 60 places. 
 It was further acknowledged that such students had not had the same education opportunities as my colleague already referred to.  It was clear that admission criteria, language and standards should not be used as reasons to deny prospective students access to the faculty.  
 In September '82 the Council decided, and I'd like to focus on non-White postgraduate students to the University, and that's to give assistance and guidance through its lectures on other appropriate ways to students of other races enroled at the postgraduate levels at other universities as requested by them. Such students may, as justified by circumstances have full access to facilities at the University of Pretoria at postgrad level and will be assisted in every possible way to reach the highest possible academic standards.  This assistance and guidance as clearly offered on behalf of the University will ultimately confer or award the degree or diploma.  
 On the 12th of August '83 the admission of non-White doctors as registrars...(intervention)