I recently had the chance to look and research about black attainment gap and to my surprise the difference in figures was astonishing, given a study conducted by City found that there is a differential of 22% between the number of undergraduate black students and undergraduate white students receiving a first class honours degree at City.

In light of that, I invited Shakira Martin (President of National Union of Students), Dr Jessica Jones Nielson (Associate SASS Dean, People & Culture) and City Students’ Union BME Officer to sit on a panel and discuss the various reasons as to Why and What steps could be taken to close the black attainment gap. I believe it is very important to increase institutional understanding of black students and supporting cultural change within institutions to become more inclusive and diverse.

The event was held on Monday the 16^th of October, attended by students and staff members. We received really positive feedback from staff members and students about the quality of the discussion. I found out that there is a lack of knowledge for black attainment gap and we need to work towards raising awareness between students. City Students’ Union in collaboration with University will take new initiatives to tackle this issue and we will also raise the issue in next Senate meeting. 

Zulkaif Riaz 

VP Activities & Development