The transformation of South Africa from a deeply iniquitous apartheid regime to a more inclusive democratic dispensation remains a huge challenge for all South Africans and its social institutions. The university remains one institution that is under severe pressure to transform. This pressure is exacerbated by the deeply entrenched apartheid legacy that remains rooted in these institutions, despite very progressive policies that have been put in place. This article aims to demonstrate that even the most substantive policy texts demand continual political scrutiny during their enactment if they are to fulfil their ideals. In so doing, it highlights the need to move beyond uncritical belief in the strength of well-formulated policies/good policy initiatives to obtain socio-political goals such as social justice. In view of this overall aim, this article uses the role played by historically white English-speaking universities during both the pre-apartheid and apartheid political dispensations in South Africa as a vantage point. It is an exploration of the kinds of influences that impacted on the way that policy was constructed and enacted by these universities during apartheid. In order to accomplish this task, Stephen Ball's policy context is used as a conceptual framework.