Children should know how immigration benefited Britain, says UK’s human rights body

EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission), a national equality body of the UK, said that the need of the hour was to teach children in Britain the country’s rich immigration history if Theresa May, UK Prime Minister, was to be successful in her mission of taking on racial injustice.

May was pressed to carry out her commitment to addressing inequalities a ‘personal priority’ by inserting immigration into the curriculum of the country.

The Equalities and Human Rights Commission was quoted by The Independent as saying that educating children on the issue of immigration would help in dealing with prejudiced views and strengthening community links by aiding children in understanding different backgrounds of people.

Natasha Devon, the former mental health champion of the UK government, recommended by saying that it would help in battling the perception that immigration posed a risk to the nation.

This issue had got a shot in its arm following the response of the Commission to the race audit that the Prime Minister had issued to underline inequalities between people of different ethnic communities.

The Ethnicity Facts and Figures website of the UK Government provided any number of statistics to bring back focus to the problem in provision and achievement, but hardly any fruitful plans for change.

According to the Commission, the project had to begin early to ensure that human rights and equality are part of the syllabus to inculcate shared values.

EHRC also said in its response that included in the course of study should be immigration history of Britain to help children understand how their country has become what it is now.

David Isaac, the Commission’s chairman, stated that a crucial role was played by immigration in the history of UK, from the country’s past until the debates leading to the Brexit referendum. He said that it was important that children fully appreciated the role played by immigration in shaping the communities of UK, as classrooms are becoming more multicultural.

Shared values would be inculcated, prejudiced ideas would be better dealt with and coexistence among communities would be cultivated, allowing young Britons to participate proactively in a democratic setup.

Ms May had admitted herself that the statistics made for distressing reading and that Britain had to travel some distance before an equal society could be achieved. She said that the audit shows that nothing could be swept under the carpet. It was not just for the Government, but for the entire society, added May.

She said that although Britain progressed a lot in engendering equality and opportunity, the data they had published showed that they still had a long way to if they want to, really, have a nation where everybody has a say.

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