Faizel Patel – 09/03/2021
Wits University says there is no truth to allegations that the institution is discriminating against Muslims and Muslim female students for entrance to medical school.
Thousands of students have started with their 2021 academic year at universities across the country.
Wits says it has registered thirty-five thousand students for the 2021 academic year.
The university says it has also invested in a new learning management system, and ensured that students have access to data and devices, so that learning and teaching can continue, despite the COVID-19 pandemic
Speaking to Radio Islam, spokesperson Shirona Patel says despite the institution receiving over 70,000 applications for just over 5,000 available first-year places which has been challenging, there is no discrimination against anyone including Muslims.
“The one challenge we’ve had and this applies largely to the Indian and Muslim community. I’ve had several queries, I’d says close to thirty in the last two weeks from parents who are saying: ‘oh students can’t get into medical school, particularly Muslim girls because the university discriminates against them because they are Muslim and female.’ I just want to correct that perception, it’s absolutely not true.”
Patel says all the selection systems at Wits University is computerised.
“They go basically with the top marks and academic merit as their only criteria. There are exceptions for architectural arts where you have to submit a portfolio. For medical school, they go on merit and the national benchmark test. But because of COVID, many people haven’t been able to write this national benchmark test and so they’ve gone on merit.”
Patel says despite a group students who failed multiple times during the 2020 academic year and caused some minor disruptions, 98% of students have been registered now and the academic year in underway.
Listen to the interview with Shirona Patel
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