Doctoral education in South Africa is at crossroads between the transformation agenda of higher education and the production of knowledge, whereas policy imperatives to produce more doctorates may come at the expense of quality. This article examines how universities assure the quality of doctoral education in Education at the point of access, its implications on transformation and the production of knowledge through doctoral education. The research employed a qualitative research approach. An exploratory research methodology was used. Data was generated through analysis of policy documents and structured interviews from 20 universities. The findings revealed that the assurance of quality perpetuates and privileges disciplinarity while transformation and the production of knowledge were narrowly conceived. Some implications were identified. The article concludes that the assurance of quality at the point of access to doctoral education should be a regulatory balancing act between quality, transformation and the production of knowledge.