Oxford is thought to be the pioneer of education all over the world and it comes as an inherent disappointment when a scandal like this comes to the fore. The newest scandal against the ancient university is that of taking students in accordance with their wealth, reports The Guardian. The news, revealed just this week, shocked students and parents across the world because of the inherent knack of meritocracy that Oxford was so well renowned for. This is the reason why many students were rejected to be a part of Oxford last year, since they had to prove that they had a substantial amount of wealth. Not only did that form an elitist society, but also did not give any chances to students from smaller backgrounds who deserved to study at the university.
The court proceedings took place this week whereby officials from the Admissions Office had to apologize for their unmentioned criterion. Their claim was that most universities followed the same pattern and it only made sense if Oxford did not miss out. However, coupled with the low acceptance rate and the fee bracket, the judge felt that the argument only made so much sense. However, this practice, it was found, was only limited to postgraduate programs. This raised much hue and cry in the House of Commons where the University Minister, David Willets stayed mum on the issue and simply commented that he knew of the lack of transparency prevalent in the admission process and how that was hindering the talents of several students. The director of graduate admissions, was therefore, made to apologize in court for wrongly depriving students of their right to be able to study in the institution.
Jane Elizabeth Sherwood’s apology was then reiterated back to her as it was found that despite her claims and suggestions, college policy was twisted to suit officials as opposed to students. This not only severely disturbed students’ faith in Oxford, but also kept poor students from even applying this year. Officials were disappointed by the precedent that had been broken because of these practices and promised an action to stop this. The college being sued is St. Hugh’s. In addition to thirteen thousand pounds asked of students, they were also to pay for their accommodation costs therein, making it impossible for them to afford Oxford. The latest update is that Elizabeth was not incriminated along with several others, because she purported, she had continuously fought for admissions to be made on the ground of meritocracy.
It is imperative that education be provided to the best of its extent by college officials and if universities like Oxford have started going on money based agenda, then it is only a matter of time before the rest of UK’s universities decide to flare up their fees and not let poor students attend college courses. It is that kind of attitude that keeps most from achieving what they truly deserve in life.
Oxford Scandal Shakes up the Education World
