By Nabila Pathan

With the Equality Bill fresh in the recent news cycle, it is hardly surprising that the recent government announcement of university budget cuts of £500 million provoked coverage on the impact on equality. After all, many of this government’s higher education policies have focused on increasing places for students, whether it was 50 percent participation targets by 2010 or getting universities to publish their admissions policies.

Why shouldn’t centres of learning be the focus of equality? After all, it does benefit the individual, society and economy, one of the main aims of the Equality Bill. On the surface, things look promising for the UK’s growing Black, ethnic and minority (BAME) communities. The gap between white and BAME students is narrowing significantly with almost one in six of all UK university students from this group.

But will these budget cuts impact on the increasing trend of participation? Most probably not, because there is evidence to suggest that applicants are increasing yearly. If tuition fees have not posed a deterrent, then this is also unlikely to. But the main question is, have policies in education truly helped attain equality for students from such minority backgrounds?

Unfortunately, where policies attempt to increase participation, there is nothing currently dealing with the immense problem that just 56.3 per cent of BAME students who graduated in 2007-08 found work within a year, compared with 66 per cent of white students. It’s almost like the pathway to equality meets an abrupt dead end.

BAME graduates are under-represented in the jobs and employment market regardless of educational qualifications. Tackling some of the significant yet understated causes that reduce employability chances – namely the lack of soft skills development and access to advice networks – are of paramount significance. Only a limited number of private charities are attempting to redress this imbalance.

The Adab Trust, for example, provides a rigorous development programme for the selection and recruitment process, similar to that used by the corporate sector and blue chip companies equipping BAME graduates for the employment market. Where the public sector ends its involvement, the private sector takes over.

Current policies on higher education also have potholes. In the process of increasing participation, modern universities have been created, causing de-value to the graduate as an employable entity. At the start of this month, research revealed that students from ethnic minorities are still under-represented in the UK's elite universities which form part of the Russell Group.

The pathway to equality cannot be staggered with dead ends. If the commitment to equality is real, more government involvement, or at least an increase in private bodies/charities like the Adab Trust, has to take place in overseeing the transition of the graduate to employee status. This not only benefits the individual and society, because it increases a sense of empowerment and integration, but also the economy. After all, a less diverse workforce means employers are missing out on a large pool of talent right on their doorsteps.

Nabila Pathan is a British writer and broadcaster. She hosted Press TV’s flagship discussion series 'Women's Voice' and writes for the blog Word Play.