Miscalculating migration and maths: Why Rishi Sunak's views don't add up

There is a Tamil proverb that fits the situation perfectly after British prime minister Rishi Sunak talked somewhat cryptically about the importance of boosting numeracy among pupils in the United Kingdom, although its alliterative magic may be lost in translation. The saying goes: "Don't say ten times ten is hundred when the stomach is on fire".

Given the deep crisis in the UK economy, the vague statement, though well-intentioned to create jobs in the age of data science, fell short of any government commitment to put its money where its mouth is. Whatever the detail, long-term statements made when there's a short-term emergency of sorts with public services in a state of disarray do not ring true. That may well be the problem with the thinking design of Sunak's Conservative party.

"Let them learn maths" may well be Britain's questionable parallel to the "Let them eat cake" saying attributed dubiously to French queen Marie Antoinette.

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But there's more irony to this than a matter of bad timing and lack of detail. A quick Google search will reveal Britain has produced an awe-inspiring range of famous mathematicians. Among them are physicist Isaac Newton, philosopher Bertrand Russell and computer science pioneers Alan Turing and Charles Babbage. G.H Hardy, who mentored Indian number science genius Srinivasan Ramanujan and a host of others bring up a list that should make Britain a mathematical superpower.

Also Read |Rishi Sunak to unveil plan for mandatory teaching of maths to students till the age of 18

Where did things go wrong? You can't oversimplify the issue but I like to think the gains of the Industrial Revolution, colonialism, and globalisation were not fairly shared with the common British people. The country's class system may not be as visible or talked about as India's caste system but the Brexit vote under which the UK exited the European Union showed that elite Britons in London's financial districts prospered while those in the countryside lagged, leading to insecurities that led to Brexit, which has drained the UK more than its proponents would care to admit.

There's mourning in some circles about Britain losing its global clout, only underlining the hard reality that you cannot succeed globally while failing locally.

The psyche of Tories and colonial-era hubris may have done more damage to the British economy than the ruling party may be willing to acknowledge. In the popular narrative set by them, immigrants are freeloaders from poor countries threatening Britain's security, economy, and way of life. Contrast that with America. Though its right-wing campaigns are hard against illegal immigrants, especially from Latin America, the US has a strong business lobby that supports positive immigration of educated Asians and entrepreneurs.

Google and Facebook owe their origin to Jewish immigrants, Apple to Syrian-immigrant-fathered Steve Jobs and a number of hot startups and tech giants to Indian-born venture capitalist Vinod Khosla.

By stereotyping immigrants and not having a long-term vision on the issue, British politicians like Indian-origin home secretary Suella Braverman (possibly more loyal to Britain than the King) only discourage positive immigration.

UK can potentially model itself after Scandinavian or Northern Europe countries where public-funded higher education seems to be on stronger footing. Or it can fuel high growth by attracting the right immigrants and sharing the gains of growth with locals. As of now, the Sunak-led Tories have missed both the points.

What seems to have happened, thanks in no small measure to Tory insensitivity, is a case of what an American writer described as a 'secession of the successful'.

There's no doubt that indulgent/profligate Labour Party policies may not be exactly what the doctor ordered for the UK but more true, the rich cannot preach to the less fortunate the glory of mathematics when what is needed is a realistic balance between growth and social equity.

Though education up to the age of 18 is free in Britain, there appear to be big gaps in its education system. A report in The Guardian two years ago said quoting the Institute of Fiscal Studies that state schools in England have suffered their worst decline since the 1980s especially after Conservatives took power in 2010. Secondary schools and deprived areas were most hit by austerity measures.

The British PM may have at least cited his father-in-law and Infosys founder N.R Narayana Murthy as an example to call on UK's fat cats to do some mathematically inclined philanthropy or scholarships while offering a be-like-me sermon for young Britons to learn maths.

Without mixing metaphors, one may say Rishi Sunak's call to boost numeracy in Britain was not a well-calculated one in the land where Sir Isaac Newton invented calculus as a mathematical discipline.

If only Sunak realises the Newtonian gravity of the situation...

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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