Clegg and Cameron turn on Oxford University over race/wealth status of students
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-students.html
After PM's race row, Clegg wades into Oxbridge admissions row as he accuses them of being biased against poor students
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daily Mail
Nick Clegg stepped up the Government’s attacks on elite universities tonight accusing Oxford and Cambridge of being biased against poor students. The Deputy Prime Minister brushed off a furious response from academics over David Cameron’s claim this week that Oxford has a ‘disgraceful’ record on admitting black youngsters.
Instead, Mr Clegg upped the ante, condemning both Oxford and Cambridge, where he was a student, for failing to accept significant numbers of students from the poorest homes. The Cambridge educated Deputy Prime Minister said only 40 students from families which qualify for free school meals, meaning their income is around £16,000 or less, qualified for Oxbridge last year. He told universities they would have to do ‘a lot more’ to admit students from poorer and minority backgrounds if they wanted to charge tuition fees of £9,000 a year.
‘I think the wider point that the Prime Minister was making is absolutely right,’ Mr Clegg said. ‘One of the objectives behind our controversial reforms in the funding of universities is we’re saying to universities, “look, if you want to charge graduates more money for having the benefit of going to university, you’re going to have to do a lot, lot more to get under-represented youngsters from poor backgrounds, from black, minority ethnic backgrounds into your university”.
‘And here’s a fact: last year, only 40 – four zero – children who had been on free school meals – in other words from the more disadvantaged families in this country – got into either Oxford or Cambridge, and that was a lower number than the year before. ‘So we do need to make real efforts to say to universities, if you want to continue to get support from the taxpayer to educate our young people, you’ve got to make sure that British society is better reflected in the people you take into the university in the first place.'
Tut tut tut, imagine if the BNP said something like this, as they often do, the media circus and the main political parties would be all over them like a bad rash. But as so often nowadays, tolerance and political correctness are a one way street - a club, and you are not in that club. Neither are students of any colour for that matter, because the reason why less and less people from state education are reaching high attainment marks is for a very simple reason; the abolition of the grammar schools which was enacted by the Labour Party many decades ago purely for reasons concerning equality (of which teaching is not) and by which the un-conservative Conservative Party stood by and continues to stand by while the education system fails so many of the poorest.
...oh and nothing from the Labour Party 'opposition', rather they agree with the Conservatives, as usual!
I have a revolutionary idea here, bring back the grammar schools and assess people on their merit/grades rather than their skin colour - anyone in agreement with me there as I just find that to be common sense? what I would like to also know though, are any of the equality drones/marxoids on here willing to defend this, or will they let it slip quietly by as they usually do and continue to vote for it?
Thoughts?
