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Gyimah urges ‘pragmatism’ over university statues

Image: Chris McAndrew [CC BY 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Former minister says widening access is more important than removing colonial relics

As Oxford prepares for the removal of a statue of Victorian imperialist Cecil Rhodes, fellow former universities and science minister Sam Gyimah has urged universities to focus on supporting black, Asian and minority ethnic students rather than taking down monuments.

Oriel College has agreed it should remove its statue of Rhodes, following pressure from campaigners who have decried his imperialism and racism. Universities across the world are now increasingly under scrutiny over their links to such figures after the death of George Floyd reenergised the Black Lives Matter movement.

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