The South West peninsula of England faces severe social mobility and educational challenges, with low university progression rates for disadvantaged students, high persistent absence, and rural isolation limiting opportunities.
UK universities and schools are cutting language courses, risking social mobility and vocational skills. Experts warn this disproportionately affects working-class students, who may find it harder to access elite universities through language degrees due to lower entry requirements and less competition.
A study by the World Inequality Lab reveals Hong Kong is now the world's most unequal society, with wealth disparities driven by capital concentration and investment returns favoring a small segment, rather than wage differences, significantly reducing social mobility.
India's Supreme Court questioned the continued reservation benefits for children of economically advanced families within backward classes, stating social mobility comes with empowerment and reservation shouldn't be indefinite. The court issued notice on a plea challenging the exclusion of a petitioner whose parents were state government employees.
A coalition of 14 social mobility organisations is urging the UK government to introduce a 'student premium' worth £430m per year to support disadvantaged 16-19-year-olds, warning of a funding 'cliff edge' after GCSEs. The campaign, backed by the Association of School and College Leaders and the Sixth Form Colleges Association, aims to prevent vulnerable students from becoming Neet (not in education, employment or training), with numbers rising to 957,000 in the final quarter of last year.
