Clik here to view.
David Cameron is partly right when he deplores that scarcity of African/Caribbean students at Oxford University (Report, 12 April). But the fact that he used the term black may have confused the university; it is surely not sufficient to describe people solely on the basis of their skin colour. What does characterise many African/Caribbean students is that they are mainly from working-class backgrounds. What steps has this prestigious university taken that has seen a decline in inclusivity over the last decade, since the progress of the 1980s and 90s? To deal with only the colour of skin, as the university is attempting to do and as the government seems to support, is to ignore the disadvantages of class for both black and white students.
It is ironic that one of the first acts of the home secretary, Theresa May, was to deny the inclusion of class considerations by refusing to implement section 1 of the Equality Act 2010. The same minister is now trying to reduce the information public authorities like universities have to provide on how they are meeting their equality duties – in the name of cutting bureaucracy. Left hand, right hand comes to mind.
Linda Bellos
Chair, Institute of Equality and Diversity Practitioners
• Oxford can only be admitting "too few" students from one category if it also admits "too many" from another. Is David Cameron going to castigate Oxford for taking in too many students from Eton?
John Haigh
Brighton
