A charity that donates thousands of pounds a year to universities to participate in a racial equality scheme is behind the “most impressive awakening” in higher education, government officials say.
Advance HE, which counts dozens of universities as members of its Racial Equality Charter scheme, is said to be responsible for the dramatic cultural changes on campuses. Tory lawmakers likened its impact on universities through the scheme to the Champions of Diversity program run by Stonewall, from which a number of government bodies withdrew due to disputes over its value for money and the charity’s impact on Whitehall.
Income membership fees
Previously, HE had previously received millions of pounds in taxpayer funding, but now relies on lucrative membership fees from universities vying for bronze or gold medals by participating in the scheme.
MEPs believe that the impact of Advance HE, including its insistence on universities to “decolonize” their curricula, has led to initiatives such as the University of Cambridge, which recommends that academics use “content notes” or “trigger warnings”. to warn students about the subject. of course, texts that allow them to “take the necessary steps to engage safely and with minimal psychological stress”.
“Like students with mental illness, we believe that the content notes can play a crucial role in helping to level the playing field for minority students of all kinds, as part of the university’s commitment to teaching,” the guide said. . from the Cambridge Center for Teaching and Learning. A project at a Cambridge college involved adding “trigger warnings with indications of harmful content” to an online archive of more than 10,000 books and magazines. Cambridge joined the scheme of the Charter for Racial Equality in 2016 and received a bronze award in 2019.
A government source told Advance HE: “They are not receiving [government] the money already, but the universities are paying for it. They use diversity to make universities the most impressive awakening. “
“Warnings for the activation of the Little House on the Prairie”
Brendan Clark-Smith, a former member of the Commons Education Committee, added: “When institutions like Cambridge University put up warnings about the Little Prairie House, you know something went wrong on university campuses.
“Advance HE is doing exactly the same thing that Stonewall did – breaking through its toxic political ideology under the pretext of fighting for social justice. Universities need to focus on providing value for money for students. ”
The Racial Equality Charter scheme is being monitored by a steering committee whose chairman, David Richardson, a board member of Advance HE, said in a 2020 article that “all universities support institutional racism.”
Brainless Nonsense
On Saturday, Sir John Hayes, who chaired the Commonwealth Group of Deputies, said: “Do not doubt, this is not just mindless vigilance, this is a sinister attempt to indoctrinate students and turn places of light and learning into places. where darkness dominates.
“Just as Stonewall introduced itself and its distorted ideology to every corner of the public sector, Advance HE has penetrated university campuses and all aspects of the higher education sector. I will raise this with the Secretary of State next week.
Last year, The Telegraph revealed how advice published by Advance HE on how to eliminate racism on campus includes eliminating racial “micro-aggression” such as “avoiding eye contact” with someone from an ethnic minority group or interrupting someone during meeting.
Government sources and lawmakers are now concerned that the desire to find favor with Advance HE is behind moves such as a review of curricula to remove classic texts that may now be considered offensive.
“Not an organization campaign”
Alison Jones, CEO of Advance HE, said: “The Charter on Racial Equality was created by the evidence-based framework to help university staff develop their own plans to address the independent evidence of racial inequality in HE from Equalities and Human Rights and Universities Commission of the United Kingdom.
“This is entirely voluntary, in no way prescriptive, and the allegations that we, an educational charity and not a campaign organization, telling universities to discard texts or tear up curricula are untrue.
But last year, an academic said there was a “climate of fear” in which those who disagreed with micro-aggression and decolonization programs were afraid to speak out.
Stonewall insists it is simply helping employers “build a workplace that includes LGBTQ + for its employees”, warning that its impact “should not be dismissed as” awake “.
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