The white population in Britain has fallen behind every other ethnic group in gaining admission to top universities amid an increased push for “diversity” in higher education.
According to figures from the Department for Education, white students have been overtaken by their black counterparts for the first time in attending elite universities in the United Kingdom.
Although white students had been lagging behind other ethnic groups in going to institutions of higher learning across the board for years, the 2020-21 academic year was the first time in history in which the native population also fell behind minorities in entering the very top schools.
Many so-called high-tarriff institutions include the Russel Group of universities, at the forefront of pushing diversity agendas and the decolonise the curriculum movement, which has sought to delegitimise historical figures such as Sir Isaac Newton on dubious claims he somehow benefited from the colonialism of the British Empire.
The report from the DfE found that just 10.5 per cent of white students entered top universities last year, compared to 10.7 per cent of black students, 13.4 per cent of mixed race students, 15.6 per cent of Asian students, and a staggering 40.7 per cent of Chinese students.
In response to the data, Professor Peter Edwards of Oxford University told The Times: “White working-class young males are now the truly disadvantaged group in Britain. In this age of levelling up, how can this be allowed to happen?
“What we are seeing is a terrible waste of talent on an enormous scale. This appalling situation also sows the seeds of social unrest. Participation in higher education is one of the ways out of poverty.”
Similar to affirmative action in the United States, university administrators in Britain have been allowed to take into account the ethnic background of applicants, rather than basing acceptance purely on academic achievement, resulting in many more minorities attending universities.
Universities are also expected to demonstrate annual efforts to recruit a more “diverse” student body each year to the Office for Students.
Despite the focus on increasing opportunities for ethnic minorities and tackling supposed institutional racism and “white privilege”, it has been the white working class — particularly boys — who have become the most disadvantaged group in Britain in terms of education outcomes. Currently, only around 13 per cent of white working class boys attend university, the worst figures for of any demographic.
Since 2014, the number of white males entering university fell by ten per cent, while the number of Asian males increased by 26 per cent, and Asian women by 39 per cent.
Research presented to Parliament has also shown that working-class white students are 50 per cent less likely than other ethnic groups to achieve strong passes on the tests used by universities to determine a student’s academic aptitude in England, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE).
The research added that the white working class were much more likely to attend a failing school in deprived areas of the country.
Defending the Conservative government’s record on education, Universities Minister Andrea Jenkyns claimed: “Under this government a record proportion of the most disadvantaged students are progressing to higher education . . . We will continue to work with the Office for Students to make sure the brightest pupils from every walk of life are supported to earn places at our most selective institutions.”
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