News Writer Zenna Hussain reports on the rise of ethnic minority student admissions to UK universities
A recent article by The Guardian highlighted the rising number of ethnic minority students accepted into Russell Groups universities last year, alongside students of other disadvantaged backgrounds. This was due to the large quantity of applicants resulting from higher A-Level grades, as the government decided to scrap exams due to COVID-19.
The number of black students who accepted places at prestigious universities rose by 19% in the space of a year. Almost 21% of students who received free school meals accepted places while general students achieving top results almost doubled since last year, and is nearly quadruple pre-pandemic levels. Thus, it is not only ethnic minority students increasingly being accepted; white students gaining places also increased by 12.5%, with nearly 75,600 students. Almost 21% of students who received free school meals accepted places while general students achieving top results almost doubled since last year
Despite an increase in ethnic minority students being accepted to university, there remains an 18.3 percentage point gap in degree outcomes for white and black students. The Office For Students, the regulatory body for English higher education, has aimed that in 20 years the gap for ethnic minority students and white students in access and attainment will be eliminated.
Events such as Black History Month sees University of Birmingham’s dedication to ethnic minority students with the Black and Ethnic Minority Association Society, the Ethnic Minority Students’ Officer, the Race Equality Network and specialised events, opportunities and talks tailored for black students.
The increasing volume of ethnic minority students in top universities goes some way to create change, but leading experts argue more can be done. The University of Birmingham’s Professor of Education and Social Justice, Professor Kalwant Bhopal told the Office for Students that for racial issues ‘there seems to be an expectation that this should fall as a burden on BAME groups.’ Meanwhile the Office for Students’ Chris Millward has claimed the department ‘will ambitiously tackle the issues causing underrepresentation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic students in postgraduate research.’
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