Universities pay lip service to equality, yet the system functions as a huge social filter. Real fairness will take a radical rethink
Tim Blackman Vice-chancellor of Middlesex University
THE GUARDIAN - SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
We are repeatedly told that higher education can advance social
mobility. Universities are rewarded with extra funding for recruiting
students from areas with low participation rates, and there are various
schemes to help bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds get
to the “top” universities, the super-selectives.
But these initiatives operate within a sector that drives inequality
through selection. Prior attainment is correlated with social class, so
differentiated academic entry requirements immediately filter young
people into a class hierarchy of institutions. This is compounded by
companies that offer highly paid jobs recruiting only from the top of
this hierarchy. Higher education
should be about realising potential with great teaching, not unfair
selection into privileged networks. We often say we value diversity but
continue with a system that judges institutions according to their
social class make-up. It is time for a radical rethink.
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