I think most of you guys and girls seem to be missing the point of a Cadet Scheme. It is to provide a means of legal window dressing and a secondary benefit is that you get qualified pilots out the other end that suit your profile.
And yes, it can be exactly compaired to Varsity bursuary...... the same rules apply.
As a white englsh speaking south african, I applied in 1994 to participate in the SAA Cadet scheme and made it further than I thought (that is an out right objection) and was bulleted after the phycometric tests, which I thought was fair.
Now I could use the Racism card, as i was not Afrikaans enough for the SAAF and of the wrong colour for the SAA cadet scheme.... or when I finally had the required flying experience, not well enough conected with the Levin's, Spence's or Malan's for SAA. But I wont.
I had previously spent 4 years in the SAAF as a techie, after not making it into the SAAF Pilot selection. I sold pots and pans door to door, borrowed myself into a mound of debt and washed airplanes on weekends - paid my way into made it on my own steam into the best Airline in the world. And now I too get to have a say over our Cadet Program here during the selection and interview process.... where the same aligations are made by people who have nothing better to do with their lives but hold a grudge.
The perception here is that you have to be Chinese or an A-Scale Captains kid to qualify and subsequently all cadets that make it through the rigorous training machine and get their wings are in many ways looked down on and not accepted but the majority of pilots out there.....
As a species we will always be jealous and pregidest when we didn't get it all our way.
Wake up and smell the roses, pull your finger out of your a*se and get on with making life a success - Nobody out there gives a flying c&ap who you are and where you came from - BUT CAN YOU DO THE JOB THAT I WANT TO PAY YOU FOR - Capatilism!
Leave racism, gender and class out of it and say well done to those who get their wings whether by SAAF, SAA or by there own hard work or with daddies cheque book - or you will die of cancer stressing over things you cannot change!