UK university pressured to bar Cuban students

THE CAMPAIGN for Solidarity with Cuba (CSC) in Britain has launched a drive to eliminate a policy barring entry applications imposed on Cuban students by the country’s Open University.

The ban was applied to Cubans, whether they are UK residents or not, due to pressure imposed by the US blockade on Cuba, according to the Cuban Communist Party newspaper, Granma. The policy was revealed after a Cuban student applied for a doctorate degree at the university in April and was informed that he was refused entry because he was a Cuban national.

Renowned as one of the largest educational institutions in Britain, the Open University has acknowledged that its admissions process includes a list of restricted countries. Applications from the residents of these countries are refused by the university out of fear that it violates the US Treasury Department’s blockade law and will subsequently lead to the university being fined, particularly if Cuban students are permitted into its study programmes. The solidarity group said that an entry ban based on a student’s nationality is in direct violation of UK anti-discrimination laws outlined in the 2010 Equality Act. The policy also contravenes the Protection of Trading Interests Act, according to which the UK government is authorised to penalise companies and organisations that honour the extraterritorial US blockade imposed on Cuba.

In a letter addressed to the vice-chancellor of the Open University, Sally Hunt, who is the secretary-general of the University and College Union, expressed concern about the “discriminatory nature of the admissions policy of the Open University”. “It not only goes against its mission of open access but also the current practice of other universities, where Cuban students can study careers and postgraduate studies.”

Granma reported that the university is putting the anti-Cuban legislation of the US blockade above domestic law.

CSC director Rob Miller said: “It is a ridiculous situation. You have a British institution overriding UK laws on equality to safeguard against US laws.”