The problem with Oxbridge. Here are my thoughts on the matter. What do you think?
If you just imagine Oxbridge university. Think of its place, its buildings and its students. Can you see a problem with this image? To most people, it is a bastion of British goodness and in many respects is what makes Britain, Britain. There is, however, a common theme inherent in this image that most people do not recognise. Oxbridge students are mostly white, privileged upper middle class. Its buildings and architecture are symbols of historical white privilege. The towns these universities are in are very wealthy towns. If you think about the way Oxbridge delivers education, it’s worrying. Students are not only educated at Oxbridge, but they are, in the process, also indoctrinated into the upper-middle class way of doings things according to British culture, whatever this may be. Ultimately, students are led to believe they are superior, not because they have a degree, but because of where they got their degree from.
This approach to education is wrong. It has divided British society for centuries. It is a well-documented fact that Oxbridge graduates look down on other people. Education should be about inclusivity, not exclusivity. However, the way in which Oxbridge operates is designed around exclusion, from its collegiate system and arcane traditions and practices. If you look at Germany and Scandinavian countries where there is no class system, society is generally more inclusive, more caring, underpinned by a ‘socialist’ attitude of equality, fairness and respect. People there become educated, not to become better than other people as people in Oxbridge do, but to help other people. The absence of a class system structure in these countries means that people do not face the same obstacles as they do in Britain where there is low society mobility. Therefore, more people reach their potential in these countries, resulting in more people empowering the economies of those countries, which is not the case in Britain where low social mobility continues to constrain economic growth.
In Britain, education is divided along lines of wealth and status. People are put into a box and labelled early on in their lives. This chipping away at personal growth and aspiration over time limits their potential and ultimately has limited the economic growth and output of the British economy. Oxbridge, as a whole, has divided Britain along these lines for centuries because its admissions process is deeply flawed. It favours the upper-middle class identity on which institutional racism, nepotism and discrimination are predicated. Students who do not conform to this identity are discriminated against at the interview stage of the application process, regardless of their actual real ability and potential. In other words, subjectivity is introduced during this stage, where tutor’s own biased belief systems are projected onto the student to see if they ‘fit the stereotype’ that is upper-middle class Britain. Attention is given to not what the student says, but rather how they say it. This is hopelessly flawed.
What is the solution to the Oxbridge problem? Simply removing the interview stage will not solve the larger problem, which is that Oxbridge creates the class system. There is simply no place for Oxbridge in 21st century Britain. These universities are outdated, flawed and deeply unfair institutions that promote all these bad qualities wrapped inside a shiny exterior designed to fool the general public into thinking they are innocent 'do-gooders' trying to make British society a better place. This is actually the opposite of what they have been doing for centuries! Therefore, the only solution that remains is one where Oxbridge is turned into museums and homes for charities. A socialist solution like this only seems fair considering the many years of capitalism Oxbridge have promoted, which has wrecked British society through social divisions and structures.
Britain needs universities that simply educate people and do not inject a toxic class system belief structure in the process, which Oxbridge clearly has done for centuries. If Oxbridge were to be dismantled along the lines I suggest, not only would the British education system become more fairer, but the British class system would eventually disappear too. The result of this would mean more people reaching their potential as social mobility increases. Why would social mobility increase? There would be no Oxbridge graduates employed simply by virtue of their university’s reputation, but rather on their ability instead. Therefore, the graduate pool flattens out along class lines as the beating heart of the class crucible, Oxbridge, will cease to exist, resulting in a fairer Britain with a flatter social structure which would ultimately empower economic growth as it has done in Germany and Scandinavia.