Opinion | US Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision a nod to education’s need to evolve with the times

The US top court’s decision ending affirmative action – amid increasingly vocal opposition and changing public opinion – bans a policy that is credited with making higher education more diverse but is also controversial

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The court banned the use of race and ethnicity in university admissions, dealing a major blow to a decades-old practice that boosted educational opportunities for African-Americans and other minorities. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:30am, 14 Jul 2023Updated: 4:23am, 14 Jul 2023

University admission policies in the United States have evolved around the policy of affirmative action. Using criteria formulated to promote diversity and reduce discrimination, they give preferential treatment to candidates from disadvantaged groups, ranging from racial and ethnic minorities to women and those from low-income families.

Its roots date back to 1961, when John F. Kennedy established the President’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity. In the following years, affirmative action became an important constituent of the university admissions process.

The recent ruling by the Supreme Court upheld an argument that race cannot be factored into the admissions policy of colleges in the US, and that the University of North Carolina and Harvard University are in breach of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

The policy of affirmative action is controversial in some circles, and over the years has been the subject of much debate. Including this kind of preferential treatment in addition to examination results and school grades stands in contrast to countries whose university admissions policies are based primarily or entirely on exam results.

In the case of Hong Kong, universities funded by the University Grants Committee have a cap of 20 per cent on places for non-local students at sub-degree, undergraduate and taught postgraduate levels.

More than half are from the mainland and the rest from all around the world. Some local students might see this as a threat while others see it as adding a valuable international dimension, greater diversity and higher overall standards.