Students at one of UK's leading universitieshave claimed that black and ethnic minority (BME) students are being negatively affected by "racial exclusion" and "discrimination".
The Student Union at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, well-known as among the few European institutions dedicated to the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East, said in a report that "white tutors" were unlikely to empathise with problems faced by BME students.
"The research found that BME students' confidence, motivation and engagement are often negatively affected by racial exclusion and discrimination in the learning and teaching environment at SOAS," the Degrees of Racism report said.
"Non-white students were comparatively less likely than their peers to be able to access the advantages of cultural familiarity with their tutor. Some felt it unrealistic to expect their white tutors to be able to empathise with their problems, especially those who had experienced racial abuse in comparable settings in the past," it said.
The report quoted students' experiences to highlight the issue of exclusion.
One BME student is quoted as telling researchers: "Both of my tutors are white men. How can I have a rapport and feel comfortable talking to a 60-year-old white man?".
The report recommends setting targets to appoint more BME staff and publishing data on attainment gaps annually on the SOAS website.
A spokesperson for SOAS said: "The report provides insight into the views of a range of SOAS students and has contributed to the ongoing discussions about how to make our curriculum more academically robust and relevant."
"While the recommendations and conclusions do not necessarily reflect the view of the whole SOAS community they have helped to spark productive debate. We value the contributions of all our staff and students to these conversations," he said.
"We want to make sure that the higher education experience is a positive one for students from all backgrounds," he added.
SOAS added that it has commissioned its own report, with the University of East London, to look in more detail at the attainment gap between students from varying backgrounds.
The SOAS Student Union had sparked controversy last week by calling for famous Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle to be replaced by philosophers from Asia or Africa.
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