My friend and former colleague John Singh, who has died aged 79, was one of the youngest teachers to be appointed as Her Majesty’s Inspector of schools (HMI), at the age of 34, and was the first of minority ethnic descent. During his 25 years’ service for the inspectorate, he used his influence to improve the experience of pupils from minority backgrounds.
In the 1960s, the education system emphasised the assimilation of minorities and the teaching of English to immigrants to “help them fit in”. John held the view that while competence in English was vital, the country would have to broaden all notions of what it meant to be British to adapt to an increasingly diverse population.
John became staff inspector for ethnic diversity in the 1980s, chairing a committee of more than 20 inspectors. In addition to organising national inspections, running in-service courses for teachers and providing day-to-day advice, the committee made significant contributions to the Rampton (1981) and Swann (1985) committees of inquiry, both of which influenced policy on the preparation of children for life in an ethnically diverse society.
Born Pashawar Singh in Punjab, India, John joined his migrant father, Kapur Singh, in Sheffield when he was three. His mother, Bachan Kaur, died of tuberculosis a year later. His father had a variety of occupations and when he went to work in a munitions factory, John and his brother, Bakhtawar (Joe), went into a children’s home and to foster families.
John was educated at a grammar school, where there weren’t many boys like him, and then did national service in the Parachute Regiment, where there weren’t many men like him. It could have been deeply unsettling but it helped to shape the grounded, imperturbable, tolerant and compassionate person he was to become, and informed his determination to help those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
He believed that pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds should not be taught separately but should be integrated and given access to the whole curriculum. He worked tirelessly to change attitudes, influence policymakers, and identify and disseminate good practice in schools and in teacher training.
After retiring in 1995, John worked for the British Council and the Council of Europe, contributing to projects on education for minority pupils and travellers. He also worked for the World Bank in the former Yugoslavia and served on the School Teachers’ Review Body. Later, he drove a community bus and was chair of governors of Garston Manor special school. He was appointed OBE in 2006 for services to education.
John was predeceased by his elder son. He is survived by his wife, Ann, his daughter and his younger son.
