Ms Ratha Perumal

An ex-lawyer working in higher education, I work as a Senior Lecturer on the MA Education programme in the Department of Education at the University of East London (UEL), and a Graduate Teaching Fellow and Hourly Paid Lecturer at the School of Education, Communication and Society, King’s College London (KCL). My teaching and scholarly work focus on educational inequality, with particular attention to race and equity in higher education.

I have considerable expertise in addressing attainment disparities and embedding evidence-informed, measurable interventions that achieve equitable student outcomes. My work is informed by both research and institutional practice, and I bring a critical, system-level lens to the conceptualisation and responses to racialised disparities in student success. During a recent secondment as Academic Director at UEL’s Office for Institutional Equity, I led pan-institutional projects designed to tackle inequities in student outcomes and experience. These initiatives were delivered collaboratively with professional services, academic departments, and senior leadership, and centred on the structural conditions that shape student access, success, and progression.

At both UEL and KCL, I have taught across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. At UEL, I have held Programme Director roles at both MA and UG levels, convened modules, and contributed to curriculum and assessment design. I supervise dissertations at both institutions and remain actively involved in cross-institutional equity work that connects teaching, research, and policy.

Through my experience working across both a post-1992 university and a Russell Group institution, I see first-hand how sector-wide policy discourses are interpreted and enacted differently within specific institutional contexts, often leading to divergent, unexpected strategies and outcomes. Such insights continue to inform my doctoral research, wider scholarly activity, and professional practice.