Rayner slams government move to tackle racial disparity in universities

by LAUREN CODLING

SHADOW education secretary Angela Rayner has criticised new measures introduced by the government last week to help tackle inequalities between minority groups in higher education, claiming that more “meaningful action” needs to be taken.

New plans were revealed last Friday (1) by cabinet office minister David Lidington and universities minister Chris Skidmore, detailing strategies to drive change in addressing racial disparities.

UK universities will have to publish data on admissions and attainment, outlining a student’s ethnicity, gender and socio-economic background, in order to track those making good progress and those not.

League table providers are also being encouraged to present better information on social mobility and under-represented groups.

Lidington said he was determined to make sure no one experienced a worse outcome due to their ethnic background.

He added that the government would make a “clear and concerted effort”, to tackle injustices, but admitted it would take time for the measures to take effect.

“These ethnic disparities in higher education cannot be tackled overnight, but I look forward to seeing meaningful and sustained progress in the higher education sector in the next few years,” he said.

The move was spurred on by the Race Disparity Audit launched last year by prime minister

Theresa May, which urged businesses and the public sector to “explain or change” issues concerning ethnic disparities.

Key figures from that audit showed that while a record numbers of ethnic minority students

are now attending university, only 56 per cent of black students achieved a First or 2:1 grade compared to 80 per cent of their white peers in 2016/2017. Black students are also the most likely to drop out of university.

However, Angela Rayner, Labour’s shadow secretary for education, has said more “meaningful action” must be taken to address the issue.

“Because the Tories scrapped the maintenance grant and replaced it with a further loan, ethnic minority and disadvantaged students now face a greater level of debt than their peers – just to get through their education,” Rayner told Eastern Eye on Tuesday (5).

Claiming that the government would “never take the issue seriously”, Rayner advised scrapping tuition fees and bringing back maintenance grants as part of a National Education Service to help address inequalities.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of Russell Group, an association of 24 public research UK universities, Dr Tim Bradshaw welcomed the government move.

“Racial inequality is unacceptable in any part of our society,”

Dr Bradshaw said. “Its causes are complex and deep-rooted, demanding intelligent and sustained interventions from the early years through to later life in which the government, universities, the regulator, schools, employers,  public services and local communities

must work together.”

“We hope today’s announcement can signal a renewed partnership in which our universities will continue playing an active and ambitious part.”

A spokesperson for the University of Birmingham told Eastern Eye on Tuesday that they are actively working to support students from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The school, which has a diverse student population, was praised last year for improving outcomes for minority ethnic students.

“We work with local schools and colleges through an extensive outreach network and through our own University of Birmingham School to attract students from under-represented backgrounds who have the talent to be successful,” the spokesperson added.

Other new key measures being introduced include a new website by Office for Students, which is designed to take the needs of disadvantaged students into account, and actively encouraging institutions to address race disparities in their workforce.

Currently, only two per cent of academic staff are black. In the 2017-18 academic year, more than 14,000 white men were recorded as professors, while just 90 black men held positions of the same status.