Black and ethnic minority students unhappy about 'too white' university staff

Some black and ethnic minority students at a leading university have said they are unhappy about being taught by old white professors.

The Degrees of Racism report has revealed concerns that the curriculum at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) is too white and that minorities are underrepresented in the make up of the campus.

The student union project carried out at the Bloomsbury university aimed to uncover why black and ethnic (BME) undergraduates underperformed compared to white classmates.

The report said: "The research found that BME students’ confidence, motivation and engagement are often negatively affected by racial exclusion and discrimination in the learning and teaching environment at SOAS."

Recommendations include setting targets to appoint more BME staff and publishing data on attainment gaps annually on the SOAS website.

A spokesman for SOAS suggested that the recommendations and conclusions were not reflective of the whole community but had helped "spark productive debate".

He added that the School has commissioned a report with the University of East London to look in more detail at reasons behind the attainment gap.