The University of Oxford has come a long way in its program allowing more BME students into the university.
BME students in the UK
According to data, in 2017, the percentage of BME students (black minority ethnic) in UK universities falls around 26 percent of the total student population. This shows the disparity on how BME students are being accepted in the UK universities, what more in the top universities of the country.
The University of Oxford, one of the premier universities in the UK, has become one of the progressive universities in the country that has slowly released the grip on allowing BME students in their program.
Five years ago, the figures for students under the minority group is just around 14 percent. Now, in every five accepted applicants in the university, one of which is from the minority group.
Still, overall, the admission rate for black students in the UK is quite minimal, though improving. The opportunities given to black students to study in a private school in the UK is still significantly lesser compared to others.
Making changes at a crucial time
For the past decade, the University of Oxford has been criticized by parliamentarians and policymakers, in how they seem to ignore state-educated students with remarkable credentials into their program.
Just recently, the old University of Oxford seemed to have a change in heart as protests about racism filled the news globally. As the so-called Black Lives Matter protest fills the air in global news, the voices of BME students in the university suddenly have been heard. They even passed voting that led to the removal of the statue of Cecil Rhodes, a Victorian Imperialist from one of the university’s college buildings.
The global movement against racism has never been this loud, and people are making it happen, at a very unusual time, during a pandemic.
