One of the problems, indeed dangers, with the anti-racism industry is that it is incapable of recognising any improvements in society. The latest, “shock horror” story of racism came last week, following a Scottish Liberal Democrat Freedom of Information request into racist instances in schools that found 2,200 cases in the last three years, something their education spokesperson described as a “stubborn stain” on Scottish schooling. In response Jatin Haria, executive director of Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights, noted that any increase in numbers could be due to the IT upgrade to recording system but quickly noted that, “we have reason to believe that these figures are only the tip of the iceberg”.
INCIDENTS of racism in West Dunbartonshire’s schools dropped by almost half last year, according to newly-released figures. A total of 33 racist incidents were recorded in the area’s schools in the three academic years from August 2017 until June 2020 – among at least 2,251 in Scotland as a whole. In years 2017-18, West Dunbartonshire’s schools saw 13 incidents of racism, and again in 2018-19, 13 incidents were reported. But In 2019-2020, that number almost halved to seven. Glasgow City Council saw the highest number of reported incidents with 642, with reports in Edinburgh at 490. Jatin Haria, executive director of Scottish charity, the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER), said that upgrades to the IT system used to record racist incidents in schools, SEEMiS, could have contributed to the overall rise in reports across Scotland.