By Gavin Mackintosh-
Oxford University must widen its admission process after being exposed for discriminating against black applicants.
The revelation from MP David Lammy’s Freedom Of Information Request that 8 of its 29 colleges included in the report, accepted fewer than three black applicants in the past three years.
The university has said its defence that it was “not getting the right number of black people with the talent to apply”.
The excuse is not credible, the University should probably be honest and say it wants a predominantly white student mix. Every University in the UK is predominantly white since black people make up a far smaller proportion of the population. However, most Universities have a reasonable mix of minority students, an expected outcome since the ability to produce good exam grades is blind to colour.
The claim that black people with the right talent don’t apply is strange. The benchmark used in assessing the University’s admission rates is the grades of applicants for various courses. If a large number of black applicants with the required grades are being turned down without good explanation, this may mean one of Britain’s top Universities is getting away with racial discrimination.
Oxford University data revealed that the proportion of Oxford students identifying as black and minority ethnic was 18% in 2017, up from 14% in 2013. The UK university average currently stands at 25%.
The most recent UK census showed 14% of the UK population identifies as black or minority ethnic.
Data in the university’s report showed that, of the students that achieved three ‘A’ grades or higher in their A-levels nationwide, 20% identified as black and minority ethnic.
One college, Corpus Christi, which has around 350 students, admitted one black student resident in the UK in its 2015-2017 intakes.
Balliol College, which has an estimated 680 students, admitted two black students over the same period, despite receiving 46 applications.
The revelation exposes the ethics and principles of Oxford University, which is filled with very bright students and lecturers. The tweeting insult by an Oxford University student, claiming MP David Lammy was bitter, was a childish show of ignorance and immaturity.
Labour MP had described Oxford as “a bastion of white, middle class, southern privilege”.
Mr Lammy asked if the tweet represented the university’s official position, but a senior staff member apologised and took responsibility.
It may be that Oxford University bosses actually want a University which is a bastion of white middle class privilege. If that is the case, the University should state this, and explain their reasons. They may have reasons of their own which are controversial, but they must either state those reasons or reverse the trend.