THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron branded Oxford University "disgraceful" after claiming that the institution admitted only one black student in the last academic year.On a visit to the north of England, the Prime Minister singled out Oxford for criticism when he accused elite institutions of having a "terrible record" of enrolling teenagers from state schools.
Senior officials at the university described the figure as "highly misleading" as it related only to British students who described themselves as black Caribbean. They said Oxford admitted another 27 students who described themselves as black African and another 14 who were mixed race.
The university also said that only 452 black students across the country had even achieved the A-level results demanded by Oxford to meet its minimum entry requirements for the 2009-10 academic year.
Leading academics and MPs said Mr Cameron risked undermining the ancient institution with his "ignorant", "absurd" and "mind boggling" comments. It followed controversy last week over Mr Cameron's claim that Britain was responsible for many of the world's historic problems, including the conflict in Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
The latest fallout will add to growing controversy that the Coalition is attempting to "socially engineer" university admissions by asking top institutions to set targets for recruiting students from state schools, poor backgrounds and ethnic minorities. » | Andrew Porter, Graeme Paton and James Kirkup | Monday, April 11, 2011
