CAPE TOWN – The University of Cape Town’s Faculty of Social Development is facing serious allegations of racial discrimination after a former department head accused a group of lecturers of deliberately awarding higher grades to white students while penalising black students.
Professor Ndangwa Noyoo, who served as Head of Department between 2018 and 2021, submitted a sworn affidavit to the Department of Higher Education and Training and the Presidency, accusing six faculty members of sustaining a pattern of academic bias and procedural misconduct.
The whistleblower, recognised by the Department as the complainant, said the conduct came to light after black student whistleblowers approached him with claims of unfair grading. Noyoo said his attempts to address the issue internally were frustrated by senior faculty members who protected the accused.
“These transgressions were committed to inflate the marks of white students while penalising black ones,” Noyoo wrote. He said lecturers routinely broke university policy by removing name-identifying stickers from exam scripts while marking – a violation of standard blind assessment protocols.
He also alleged that some lecturers manipulated results to favour their reputations. One instructor allegedly gave distinctions to an entire master’s class in what Noyoo described as a move to win favour among students, despite a lack of departmental review.
Email correspondence included in the affidavit reveals Noyoo raising concerns in 2019 over the unusually high number of distinctions in a postgraduate module. When he questioned course instructor Dr. Alvina Kubeka about the trend, she attributed the results to “critical engagement” and “emotionally charged seminars” during an intensive two-week block.
She maintained that while written work did vary in quality, strong group presentations and classroom participation had influenced the high scores.
Noyoo also shared emails from 2018 in which an administrative officer warned staff not to open marked exam scripts to view student identities. One lecturer, Ron Addinall, admitted he routinely opened the scripts post-marking to prepare grade summaries, defending it as necessary for recordkeeping.
Another concern raised by Noyoo was the alleged coaching of postgraduate students on how to respond to exam questions, potentially skewing assessment outcomes.
UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola confirmed that the university had been made aware of the claims and that a preliminary internal process had begun.
While no official investigation has yet been initiated by the Department of Higher Education, Moholola said the university is liaising with the department and will consider launching a formal inquiry.
“These allegations predate the current administration,” he said. “UCT remains committed to academic integrity and accountability and will fully cooperate with any investigation.”
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