UK Universities perpetuate institutional racism: Report

According to a recent report, universities in the United Kingdom perpetuate institutional racism and that vice-chancellors should undero racial literacy training.

A report by Universities UK (UUK), an independent body which represents 140 institutions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, calls upon educational leadership to accept that there are problems pertaining to racism at their institutions, and that there is a need to improve awareness among staff and students pertaining to racism, racial micro-aggressions, white privilege and white allyship.

The report, aptly titled Tackling Racial Harassment in Higher Education, comes after an inquiry by the government's Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) concluded that universities were failing to address tens of thousands of racist incidents every year.

The EHRC inquiry concluded that around a quarter of ethnic minority students had experienced some form of racial harassment, and that universities were unaware of the sheer scale of the problem.

In addition to the wider prevalence of racial harassment on campuses, the report highlights a serious lack of diversity among senior leaders, with minority ethnic students facing inequality of opportunity, as well as significant pay gaps.

The UUK report urges universities to review their current policies and procedures for dealing with racism, and develop new institution-wide strategies for tackling racial harassment.

In addition, vice-chancellors are also advised to introduce new reporting systems and to collect and share data on racist incidents, and to engage directly with staff and students who have lived experience of racism.