Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

University to seek help of religious heads to enrol more ethnic minorities

A BRITISH university aims to raise the number of applications from the UK’s ethnic minority communities with the support of religious leaders.

Oxford University is aiming to get support from imams to raise the number of ethnic minority candidates to support the youths from ethnic minorities and disadvantaged people.


The university wants to focus on the “key influencers” behind teenagers’ decisions which, as well as parents and school teachers, can include imams.

According to Oxford University Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education, the university is working a new scheme with a mission to raise the number of Pakistani and Bangladeshi undergraduates.

Professor Martin Williams, responsible for Oxford’s strategy work on admissions, told The Telegraph that plans are “under development” but will include launching a charm offensive to woo religious leaders.

He said: “We are particularly keen to focus on students of Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage.

“We are working on a scheme that would reach out specifically to those communities. We are aware that different approaches work for different communities.

“We have long worked with teachers as influencers for all sorts of students. But for particular communities, we are aware that there are other key influences. I think in a lot of these communities the local imam can be very important in decision-making and obviously parents.”

Students from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds now constitute 22 per cent of Oxford’s undergraduate population.

It is up from 18 per cent last year, according to the latest university admission records.

Black students make up 3.1 per cent of Oxford’s intake, up from 2.6 per cent last year.

Professor Williams further noted: “If you look at the numbers we are admitting compared to the proportion of the population, we have seen big improvements in the number of black Afro-Caribbean students.

“Pakistani and Bangladeshi students really is the group that is now the most underrepresented compared to what you expect. It is a generalisation but these do tend to be relatively underprivileged communities.”

Universities in the UK now have been working heavily to admit more students from deprived households.

More For You

Air India

The Amritsar-Birmingham and Amritsar-London Gatwick routes will each increase from three to four weekly flights, while Ahmedabad-London Gatwick will go from three to five weekly flights.

Air India to increase flights between UK and India from March 30

AIR INDIA will increase flight frequencies on key routes as part of its Northern Summer schedule, effective 30 March 2025.

In the UK, the airline will add three more flights on the Delhi-London Heathrow route, increasing from 21 to 24 weekly flights using a mix of A350-900 and upgraded B787-9 aircraft.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pablo-Escobar-merchandise-Getty

Escobar, killed by security forces in 1993, remains a figure of global interest, with his image appearing on souvenirs like T-shirts, mugs, and keychains. (Photo: Getty Images)

Colombia considers ban on Pablo Escobar merchandise

COLOMBIA’s Congress is considering a bill that would ban the sale of merchandise featuring drug lord Pablo Escobar and other convicted criminals.

The proposed law aims to curb the glorification of Escobar, who was responsible for thousands of deaths during his time leading the Medellín cartel, reported BBC.

Keep ReadingShow less
Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Polls show most Britons back assisted dying, with supporters calling for the law to reflect public opinion.

Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Eastern Eye

THE proposed new assisted dying law for terminally ill people will be amended to remove the requirement that a high court judge sign off on each case, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said on Tuesday (11).

Opponents of assisted dying said the change would weaken the safeguards around protecting vulnerable people from being coerced or pressured into taking their own lives.

Keep ReadingShow less
Andrew Malkinson

Malkinson, 59, has been struggling financially since his release and has been on universal credit for 19 months. (Photo: X/@NotThatBigIan)

Wrongful rape conviction: Andrew Malkinson to get 'significant' compensation

ANDREW MALKINSON, who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, will receive a six-figure interim compensation payment from the Ministry of Justice.

The payment comes more than a year after his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
IMF team visits Pakistan to assess governance and corruption reforms

The assessment will shape structural reforms and examine protections for property rights and foreign investments

IMF team visits Pakistan to assess governance and corruption reforms

Eastern Eye

A TECHNICAL team from the International Monetary Fund met Pakistan’s chief justice Yahya Afridi on Tuesday (11) to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment under the 2024 Extended Fund Facility programme.

The IMF team is in the country for a week-long trip to scrutinise the judicial and regulatory framework tackling governance and corruption as part of a £5.6 billion loan agreed last year.

Keep ReadingShow less