Rise in university applications from BME students, but what does this really mean?

Recent news has shown that there has been a rise in university applications from BME students. UCAS stated that applications rates for black 18-year-olds has risen from 20 per cent in 2006 to 34 per cent this year. Though this is an achievement in itself, there is still a long way to go. With young Black boys still remaining the most likely to be unemployed, and even BME graduates have a tougher task finding a job than white graduates , the stench of inequality remains lingering.

The job market at the moment is not great, but for BME graduates it is horrible. Government research shows that those who identify themselves as African/Asian origin need to make nearly twice as many job applications to get an interview, this in turn means BME graduates have to go the extra mile to be even considered for a position. With many BME graduates finding it hard to get jobs, the government are failing to provide sufficient solutions, the only principle being advocated by the coalitions are cuts. Figures published last month exhibited that the Government’s assessment of the benefits cap concluded that 40% of families affected would include someone who is BAME. Further research by the Bow group found that black students were not given the same opportunities as white students and 60% of BME graduates did not expect to be working in six months. With these shocking statistics, it seems that much more needs to be done too.

With grants such as EMA being lost, the coalition has attempted to put bursaries and scholarships in place to encourage more BME students to continue applying to universities. One being the National Scholarship Programme, this provides support for students from lower earning backgrounds. This programme however will be cut in the future (are you surprised?). Some universities understand the financial strains of coming into higher education for some BME students. Therefore some institutions have created scholarships and bursaries to accommodate a more diverse student body. One being The Vice Chancellor’s Diversity Award from the university of York. The award offers £1,000 award in your first year of study, a guaranteed interview to become a Student Ambassador and Access to tailored careers advice and support. So though EMA has been taken away, other financial options are being offered for BME students.

However various issues have been exhibited, one is the type of universities BME graduates attend have an impact on job opportunities. Though there has been a rise in university applications, the type of universities that the BME students are likely to attend have low employment rates after completing a degree. A study showed that 1 in 4 of all students studying at the University of East London remain unemployed in the long term after leaving university. This heavily contrasts with only 1 in 20 being unemployed after graduation at Oxbridge. It has also been highlighted that there are more black students at the University of East London than all the Russell group universities combined. This is significant as it indicates that though BME applications to universities are rising, the lack of BME people in high ranking institutions remains worrying.

With the coalition scrapping schemes such as the Education Maintenance Allowance or the Future Jobs Funds which directly helped the BME community, it seems that nothing effective has been put in place to help the BME community. BME youth unemployment is a major crisis and it seems that the coalition are not taking this seriously. With the Conservatives being branded as the “nasty party” they are truly living up to their name as they continue to ignore the shouts of despair from the BME community. Even the Labour party have failed to propose any plans that will directly benefit BME communities, which is worrying. So with all the main parties ignoring the crisis, what is the BME community going to do about this crisis? Well the answer is what we all always do, and that is fight to get our voices heard. Various organisations such as SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity), Elevation Networks, Rare Recruitment and the social mobility network are tackling the issues of BME youth unemployment. This is by providing mentoring and schemes to BME students which are vital to stop the crisis. It is great news that the there is a rise in BME students applying to university, but more work needs to be done. With A level results day creeping up, I wish all the students getting results the best of luck!

Mems Ayinla