CRE chief: Time to look anew at black boys
Head of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), Trevor Phillips, has said that radical new thinking is required if black men are not to become a permanent underclass.
Noting that only one in four African-Caribbean boys reach the threshold of five good GCSE passes and there are twice as many black men in prison as there are at university, Mr Phillips said it was time for radical action.
Writing in the Guardian Mr Phillips, said: “Most black boys of my generation came out of school under-qualified and unemployable. So did our sons. And so, it seems, will our grandsons. The critical mass of failure is threatening to turn this community into a permanent, irrevocable underclass.”
The CRE head said that the old suggestions that the education system was racist and biased against black boys did not hold water. He pointed out that Chinese and Asian boys are doing well at school – as are many black girls.
And Mr Phillips re-opened the controversial suggestion that black boys should be taught in separate classes.
This suggestion caused outrage when Mr Phillips first mooted it earlier in the year, with accusations that it would lead to segregation or bullying.
But, he defended the idea, saying: “But what can be more stigmatising than the absolute certainty that in every school, the pupils most likely to fail are black boys?”
He added: “We have to accept that our historical bleating about racist teachers, class barriers and irrelevant curricula has not moved the performance of these kids one iota. We need new solutions.”
The CRE is hosting a seminar in London tomorrow to debate the merits or otherwise of tailored education prior to the production of a policy paper.
