Oxford and Cambridge failing to recruit enough Indian, non-white students: Study - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Elite British universities such as Oxford and Cambridge are failing to recruit enough students of Indian, African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage, according to a study. Just over one-in-10 students at Oxbridge are non-white, a report by Race for Opportunity - a group set up to improve employment prospects for people from ethnic minority backgrounds - has disclosed. The study also found that while students of Chinese or mixed ethnicity were well represented at Oxford and Cambridge, both universities are still giving fewer places to black or Asian students than the average in other universities. Some 11.1 per cent of students at Oxford were non-while, while the proportion at Cambridge was 10.5 per cent, said the report. Only top universities, including the London School of Economics, Kings College London, Imperial and University College London, had a decent mix of undergraduates from different racial groups, it has been claimed. The study called for universities to actively monitor the number of students recruited from different groups "take responsibility" for improving the racial balance. "As precious as higher education of all types is, only if more school leavers from ethnic minority backgrounds study at Oxford, Cambridge and other high achieving universities are we likely to see a breakthrough in the progression of ethnic minorities into senior management in this country," The Telegraph quoted Sandra Kerr, national director of the campaign, as saying.