A storm erupted this week over an academic research paper by a globally known economics professor from UCT.

Amid an outcry over claims of racism in an academic paper and counter-cries of threats to academic freedom this past week, the South African Journal of Sciences has stood its ground against calls to withdraw a controversial article by a University of Cape Town professor.

The article by University of Cape Town (UCT) economics professor Nicoli Nattrass, titled 'Why are black South African students less likely to consider studying biological sciences?'

took the form of a two-page commentary on exploratory research conducted at UCT's Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa (iCWild), where she is deputy director.

The exploratory research was based on an opportunistic survey among 211 UCT students and conducted by iCWild student researchers.