University of Cape Town, South Africa

In 1959 the South African National Party Government passed the extension of University Education Act which prohibited the admission of any person not classed as 'white' to universities, other than those established specifically for them, without a permit from the Minister of State. This legislation was strenuously opposed by the University of Cape Town and others. Following an inquiry into education, the Government published the Universities Amendment Bill in 1983, which altered the rules in that rather than a permit system, universities were to be prohibited from admitting black students beyond a quota to be stipulated annually by the Minister. Once again there was considerable opposition to the proposed new legislation, and the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Cape Town sent copies of material to contacts in the UK, for use in campaigning against the Bill. The papers in this collection comprise a set of this material