LONDON - The British government is ordering schools with all white student bodies to partner with more diverse institutions to strengthen community relations.
The Department for Education and Skills Wednesday released guidelines for the program, calling on schools "to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and good relations between different groups," The Independent reported.
"Every school -- whatever its intake and wherever it is located -- is responsible for educating children and young people who will live and work in a country which is diverse in terms of culture, faith, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds," the department said.
Schools Minister Jim Knight said the program would be supervised by Ofsted, Britain's official school watchdog agency.
The move was not welcomed by all education officials.
"I winced. My heart sank," Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said. "It seems like another stick to beat schools with. They think of something and they make it law and then Ofsted kicks in and -- if you don't do it -- you lose your job. Schools at the heart of the community is a great idea but they are there already."
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