Equality and Equity are now loaded terms, since Nigel Farage is now writing “essays” with the Telegraph as his source... I guess it is a new form of pseudo not-academics. A sort of pastiche on “expertism”.
Not sure what to make of this! For some Sunday night entertainment.
https://nigelfarage.substack.com/p/britain-is-a-two-tier-state-against
I think Nigel has maybe even been hanging out on MN given the pseudo sources.
Who is up for a patriotic education? Imagine if he gets rid of VAT and only the rich get access to a 21 century education, and the rest of our children are patriotised!
“Education
It’s a similar story in education, where bureaucrats are more interested in diversity than the educational success of the largest group of pupils. White state school students have the lowest rate of entry into university, and poor White British students have the worst GCSE results of any large ethnic group. Yet the overwhelming focus in rhetoric and policy appears to be directed at making a bad situation worse.
Barely over a third of White British boys on free school meals meet the expected standard in English and Maths, five years after the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities pointed this out. Yet the schools which should be dealing with addressing this sometimes seem to have other concerns.
Take Langley School, in Solihull. Some 23% of its students are eligible for Free School Meals; almost half of its students are White British. Its Equality policy contains a fascinating glimpse into how our institutions think: it promises “embedding EDI within teaching and resources”, “promoting community cohesion”, “instilling in pupils an awareness of prejudice”, and presents a glossary featuring “microaggression”, “safe space”, “decolonisation”, “White privilege” and “White supremacy”.
Or take Hillview, in Kent, which sets out the guidance provided for children aged 0-5: “equity and inclusion require more than treating everyone the same”, “talking about race is a first step in countering racism”, “practitioner training is an important step toward… understanding about White privilege, systemic racism, and how racism affects children and families”, and, of course, teaching children to “recognise racist behaviours and develop anti-racist views” while providing “role-play clothing that allows children to play in gender-flexible ways”.
I could go on, but I won’t. The point is simple: while White children are being left behind, the teachers who should be looking out for them are lecturing them about “White privilege”, telling them about their “responsibility” to reduce racism, telling them it is impossible for Black people to be racist towards those with White skin.
Things are no better at university. The focus of access schemes - despite careful wording around disadvantage - seems all too often to be on race, while White students are squeezed to make way.
Prestige is no protection. Oxford University has been accused of engaging in social engineering on a massive scale, with data showing Black students who missed their A-level grades receiving offers at almost four times the rate of their White peers.
Since 2020 and the moral outrage that followed the murder of George Floyd, the ethnic minority share of undergraduates admitted to Oxford has risen by 31%. The University’s Race Equality Charter Action Plan contains pledges to raise this figure further, to secure postgraduate scholarships for ethnic groups under-represented at the university, and to improve the grades of minority students.
Targeted outreach soliciting applications, scholarships reserved by race - these actions are legal because the Equality Act permits “positive action”, and Oxford is very far from alone in making use of this loophole. Curiously, the university is less vocal about its policies for admitting White Working Class students, who made up just 3% of the student body in 2019.
Some of this behaviour is mandated, with the Office for Students insisting on Access and Participation Plans that target “disadvantage”. The asymmetry of care, however, appears to be voluntary, and in keeping with the wider behaviour of the university sector. The result is that White middle class students applying to institutions across the country are at a serious disadvantage, and that White working class students may never get that far.
As I have stated, Reform UK would repeal the Equality Act, and strip back the regulations that allow for “positive action” in universities. We would insist that the criteria for admission to universities receiving state funding be purely meritocratic. Free speech protections on campus will be strengthened to restore freedom of expression and stop those who dissent against DEI being cancelled.
A Reform UK Government will end the ideological capture of our classrooms and ensure that every pupil in England receives a balanced and patriotic education. Under a Reform Government, every school will be required to fly the Union Flag, honour St George’s Day in England (and national days in the other home nations), and mount an official portrait of the King in a visible communal space.
We will introduce a new history curriculum, rooted in honouring our island story with pride. There will be no public funding for research or courses attempting to ‘decolonise’ the curriculum. Pupils should not be forced to celebrate Black History Month, Pride Month and Refugee Week.”