UK equalities chief says 'immigrant optimism' and 'religious upbringing' can help ethnic minority pupils

AN equalities chief in UK has said that “immigrant optimism” can help ethnic minority pupils to outperform their white peers.

Dr Tony Sewell, chair of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, added that having a religious upbringing can also help children develop a sense of discipline, reported The Telegraph.

religious backgrounds give children a sense of discipline,

While addressing MPs on the education select committee, Dr Sewell said he did not agree with the argument that ethnic minority pupils are likely to feel "isolated" at Oxford or Cambridge as they are not accustomed to rituals, the report added.

According to him, religious pupils from ethnic minorities are well-equipped for Oxbridge traditions such as formal dinners as they are used to "rituals".

Dr Sewell opined that religion can be a "positive effect" on students particularly from ethnic minority backgrounds.

"Culturally if you come from a religious background you are used to ritualistic backgrounds. So, having dinners and whatever and standing up and down and putting your hands on your head - all those kinds of things that you would do in a context that might be difficult - I find that in fact we're very good at that," Dr Sewell told MPs

"Discipline as well - it helps in discipline. So I can see how, in a very positive way, religion is part of, almost, that immigrant optimism."

His comments came after the commission concluded that geography, family influence, socio-economic background, culture and religion all impact life chances more than racism, the newspaper report added.

The landmark report - commissioned in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement - found children from many ethnic communities do as well or better than white pupils in compulsory education, with black Caribbean pupils the only group to perform less well.

Dr Sewell was being questioned by MPs as part of their inquiry into why white working class students underperform in education compared to other ethnic groups.

The equalities chief also suggested that state schools should have teachers who are dedicated to getting pupils into Oxbridge and other top universities from early on, like in the private sector.

"Maybe it's shared within an academy or whatever, but really working with those young people from upstream, beginning to build that aspiration with them, but particularly with their families," Dr Sewell added.

"That's another intervention that you work with the families to understand the real value of higher education and we think that would work particularly with white pupils from poor backgrounds."

He pointed out that in some private schools - where they have dedicated staff who talk to pupils about Oxbridge early - children have a "real academic confidence" and know about the colleges by Year eight, the report added.