‘Bad news’ from America! Black students started decreasing in top US universities including Harvard

Harvard University News: In America, people who have been victims of social discrimination are given priority in jobs and education. Black Americans were getting the most benefit from this, but the situation has changed after a decision of the Supreme Court last year. The court gave a decision refusing to consider race during college-university admissions. Since then, the number of black Americans in colleges has started decreasing. The number of black students taking admission in Harvard University of America this year is less than last year. According to the data released by the university, the number of black students taking admission in the 2024-28 batch this year is 14%. Last year, the number of black students among the total students was 18%. Data shows that the number of Hispanic students has now increased to 16% as compared to 14% last year. The number of Asian-American students remains at 37%.

What is the reason for the low number of black students in Harvard University?

In fact, last year, the US Supreme Court gave a historic decision saying that the race of a student will not be considered during college-university admission. The decision that came in June 2023 was against the US Affirmative Action (positive bias) law. Due to this, the number of black students taking admission in institutions like Harvard has now decreased. Earlier, blacks used to get preference during admission, which has now ended and its effect is visible.

In which American institutions was the impact of SC’s decision seen?

At institutions like Yale and Princeton, the number of black and Hispanic students hasn’t changed much. But some institutions have seen significant changes. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the percentage of black, Hispanic, Native American or Pacific Islander students fell to 16%, from an average of 31% over the past four years. At Brown University, the share of black students fell from 15% to 9% and the share of Hispanics fell from 14% to 10%.

What is the Affirmative Action Law?

According to BBC, the Affirmative Action Law was included in American policies in the 1960s. This law is considered to promote diversity in society. Under the law, some policies and practices have been made, through which people of marginalized society can be benefited. People who have been victims of discrimination for a long time can be given priority in jobs, education and other fields. Under this, there is a rule to give reservation to blacks and people from socially backward classes during college admission.