TOWARDS THE NEW SOUTH-AFRICA - EQUAL-OPPORTUNITY POLICIES AT THE UNIVERSITY-OF-CAPE-TOWN

South African universities are currently adjusting their policies to t he demands and realities of the 'New South Africa' developing from the collapse of the Apartheid regime that had governed the State during t he period 1948-1990. The most striking of these efforts come from the four English-speaking universities (Cape Town (UCT), Witwatersrand, Rh odes and Natal). A description is given of the changes made at UCT ove r the past decade to alter the gender composition and demographic bala nce among the various racial groups constituting the student body, and to a lesser extent the faculty, under the guise of an 'Equal Opportun ity' policy, with an analysis of the constraints limiting the applicat ions of these policies, and some of the accompanying tensions and cont radictions.