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The Democratic Alliance (DA) congratulates the University of Cape Town (UCT) for the recognition it is receiving for promoting educational excellence. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2010/2011 ranked UCT 39 places higher than last year, moving from 146th in the world to 107th. This is an impressive achievement for which all South Africans should all feel proud and inspired. This kind of commitment to outstanding teaching and research offers a model for higher education in Africa.

This comes a day after Parliament received a reply from the Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande to a question the DA posed about whether "he has any plans in place to ensure that South African universities appear in the top 100 rankings." The Minister scoffed at such international rankings, claiming they were "biased" in favour of "well-resourced" institutions that were "English" based and "Westernised." We pointed out that public universities require state resources to function, thus if South African universities are not well-resourced, we have only the government to blame. Moreover, some 55 universities that were ranked ahead of UCT (in last year's index) came from countries where English was not the first language. And it is not "Westernised" universities that thrive, but rather universities that hold themselves to international standards, not just to "our criteria," which Minister Nzimande trumpets.

UCT's steady march up the rankings shows that we can achieve global distinction and compete against the best. We hope that some of our other universities will also get into the top 200 list, but this requires the total commitment of the government to support and nurture academic excellence. The DA fears that we do not have the right person at the helm to do this. Minister Nzimande has shown no interest in raising the standards and outcomes of our universities. Indeed, it seems that they achieve what they do despite, not because of, government interventions. Imagine what our universities could achieve if they had a Minister backing them with vigor and dedication.

The DA salutes UCT, and all of our universities, for striving to distinguish themselves as centres of excellence. We call on the government to stop defending mediocrity and strive to be the best, as our universities want to be.