Making universities accessible to a greater section of the population does not mean lowering standards, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said on Thursday.

"Nobody wants a lowering of standards, because it is in nobody's interest," he said delivering the JN Boshoff Commemorative Lecture at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein.

Excluding part of society from universities was actually "lowering standards".

Speaking on the topic "What is Transformation in Higher Education?" Nzimande said the most obvious form of transformation should be the elimination of racism.

This not only meant greater access for black students and their full integration into university life, but also ensuring that no group of students felt socially alienated.

The demographic composition of academic and nonacademic staff must also change decisively.

"A particular effort should be made to ensure that the children of the working class and the poor are given opportunities to study and to succeed in universities."

Nzimande said despite the fact that universities had policies in place to combat racism and discrimination, the 2008 Soudien report found a gap between policy and actual discriminatory practice as experienced by many students and staff.

"According to the report, this is a serious problem because this disjuncture is not only because of the actions of maverick individuals on the ground, but includes the university leaderships, even university councils."

The Minister said university councils were guilty of making policy in order to comply with legislation and ignoring it in practice.

Progressive policies were not enough for transformation as they needed to be monitored and interventions made by institutions where necessary.

"I have committed myself to ensuring that my department monitors the institutions in this regard and have written to all the university council chairs to ensure that the report is taken seriously and discussed on all campuses," he said.

Nzimande's predecessor Naledi Pandor set up a panel to probe racism in higher education. It produced the so-called Soudien report, which concluded that "discrimination, in particular with regard to racism and sexism, is pervasive in our institutions".