I consider myself a novice at posting blogs but I must admit that I have read hundreds of amazing post from different authors, in order to get inspired and write more. Up to this moment, I have a small band of followers, who in return for their acknowledgement, I am also following with interest to see what they are saying. What interests me is the varied range of themes and ideas that being discussed, I hope that my contribution can strike a chord with more writers but I guess that it takes time to gain followers.
The reason why I feel compelled to write again is due to my concerns about social mobility regarding students from the black and ethic minority (BME) group of students and those from disadvantaged white working class backgrounds in the United Kingdom. It came to my attention that students from these communities are suffering from a hidden form of discrimination with regard to gaining University places at elite institutions, Oxford and Cambridge despite achieving the entry grades. Only a miserly 3% of students from our most disadvantaged section of society gained entrance to either of our two most prestigious universities this academic year, meaning that despite of the governments drive to become more inclusive, disappointingly nothing much has changed .
Social mobility is not only vitally important to our economy today, it is the main driver of the future dynamism needed to increase wealth across the social divide that has hindered social progress for people from the BME and white working classes, since the economic crash of 2007/8. It is the people from the afore-mentioned social groups that have fallen behind because of poor educational outcomes, due to the real-terms cuts in the nation's education budget. This in turn will affect the nation's inability to become more successful, at a time when we need success following the decision to leave the European Union. Failure to invest in our young people leads to low self-esteem and zero progress regarding increasing their social mobility. Instead more young people are being influenced by criminal activity in order to make money and gain respect among their peers. This is a far cry from the ambitious notes that were being spoke about regarding greater social mobility for the brightest students regardless of class, when Tony Blair and subsequent governments have stated that education is a priority.
If the figures that were announced this week are true, then where does this leave our nation? It is hard to say but it feels as though we are merely treading water. We need to invest in our young people in order that we can compete on a level playing field in the future with countries who are advancing at a faster rate than we currently are. However, it seems as though the system is leaving behind a whole generation of untapped potential that could help to safe the nation's future. This is the precise reason why Britain needs to invest in our young people because failure to do so will mean that there will be less chances of improving the social mobility gap, which seems to increase year on year. Hence, a program aimed at educating our young would seem an obvious choice for the nation so hopefully someone will listen and start acting by beginning to tackle the hopelessness of poor educational attainment, for many of those young people who are being left behind from our most disadvantaged sections of society.
