As an effort of improving the UK’s education system, David Cameron has declared that starting from 2017, candidates’ names for universities will be hidden from all application forms, as a way of preventing bias against candidates that may be coming from minority groups.
While it’s surprising that racism is still a thing here, in the U.K., the move represents a step forward for the upper-level education, but also for the anti-discrimination fight. Based on this, Cameron talked about the plans to boost the number of minority students in U.K. universities, while also outlining a plan meant to make graduate employers pledge to name-blind recruitment, a principle that needs to be followed in order to sustain an equal work force, while also disregarding any suspicions of racism.
With this in mind, companies such as the Civil Service, BBC, Teach First, Virgin Monkey, KPMG, HSBC and more have promised to keep the names of candidates hidden from application papers, as a way of making sure that unconscious bias will be avoided. This pledge is essential for the future of the U.K., as together; the employers mentioned above employ over 1.8 million people in the UK.
Cameron stated that: “I said in my conference speech that I want us to end discrimination and finish the fight for real equality in our country today. Today we are delivering on that commitment and extending opportunity to all. If you’ve got the grades, the skills and the determination this government will ensure that you can succeed”.
‘As the UCAS is committed to increase participation from groups that can be considered as disadvantaged, it believes that this move will finally allow university admissions to become fully unbiased, and dependent on the actual skills and education of the applicant, rather than his ethnicity.
Based on everything that has been outlined so far, the move is thought to be beneficial for the UK education system, as only those who truly deserve it will be able to join universities, and then get hired by graduate programs. What do you personally think about Cameron’s move? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
