UK: Universities minister promotes ideas for increasing boys' academic success

Article here. Excerpt:

'When you think of campaigning for equality, what comes to mind? Equal rights for women, an end to discrimination against ethnic minority groups, opposing homophobic bullying?

Probably all of the above – and they should, rightly, be priorities – but an equally pressing priority when it comes to educational achievement is campaigning to improve the performance of boys, particularly white boys from disadvantaged communities.

David Willetts first put his finger on the problem, in his role as universities minister, in an interview with The Independent four years ago. When it came to widening participation in higher education, he argued, white working-class boys should be treated as a disadvantaged group.

The evidence is incontrovertable, and growing with time. The latest manifestation of it comes in a pamphlet published by the Higher Education Policy Institute entitled "Boys To Men – the underachievement of young men in higher education and how to start tackling it".'