Ethnic minorities win more places at university
STUDENTS from ethnic minorities are up to six times more likely to get a place at leading universities than white students, official figures have disclosed.
White students are now underrepresented at just under half of all universities, according to Ucas data. Earlier this year, David Cameron accused top universities of racism for not admitting enough non-white and poor students. However, the latest data showed that some leading universities admit a greater proportion of minority students than their proprtion of the population.
In cases where institutions admit fewer black and poor stu- dents, they do so because the pool with top grades is much smaller, limiting their choice, the Ucas 2015 figures show.
The news came as a Government minister insisted that former public school pupils will not be discriminated against by employers because of their education.
Matt Hancock, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of social mobility policy, said that he was not waging a “class war” against the rich after last month announcing a set of questions allowing firms to check the “socio-economic background” of applicants, as employers must “spot potential, not polish”.
He said that any information
collected about schooling by employers would not “form the basis of any individual recruitment decision”.
Delivering the Keith Joseph Memorial lecture last night at the Centre for Policy Studies, Mr Hancock indicated he was backtracking on the extent of his proposals, saying that “any background measures would be collected on an entirely voluntary basis and used anonymously”.
The latest Ucas figures, which analysed entry rates of 18-year olds to 132 universities across the UK, show that black and poor people with grades A*, A, A have the same entry rate as white or rich people with the same grades and similar subjects. The findings provide data on individual providers about any differences in offers made by ethnic group, sex and area background.
However, the Russell Group, which represents the most elite institutions in the country, said the data missed “a range of key information” such as Alevel subject choice, grade requirements, personal statements and academic references.
For the first time, the data offered a breakdown of the entry rate by ethnicity. It showed:
Asian 18-year-olds are more than six times as likely to be placed at the LSE than white teenagers, while black students are more than twice as likely to be placed than white.
Asian 18-year-olds are more than four times as likely to be placed at UCL than the white group. Black students are over one-and-a-half times more likely to be placed than white.
Asian 18-year-olds are about oneand-a-third times more likely to be placed at Cambridge than the white group. White students are more than three times more likely to be placed than those from the black ethnic group.
White 18-year-olds are more than two-and-a-half times as likely to be placed at Oxford than the black ethnic group.
Ucas insisted these figures did not necessarily mean a university was prejudiced.
The data also showed that 18-yearolds living in the most advantaged areas are 16 times more likely to be placed at Cambridge as those from the most disadvantaged areas. The data showed that overall since 2008 white people have been the least likely to attend any university.
Dr Mark Corver, director of analysis and research at UCAS, said: “Those differences in entry rates are driven by the profile of people applying in the first place and the grades that they got.”
Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, said “a much fuller picture is required to understand why some students are not applying to or winning places at leading universities”.