London, Mar 2 : Indian- and Chinese-origin students are outdoing many white children in UK schools because their families place more value on education, according to a key Government adviser.

Sir Mike Tomlinson, the former head of Ofsted, says that children of ethnic minority populations in the country are making better progress, while white working-class boys are struggling in schools.

He thinks that the reason for such a divide is because working-class parents failed to place the same value on education as their ethnic minority counterparts.

Thus, poor white children have low expectations of what they can achieve, leading to lack of effort and low results.

"We are seeing every ethnic group progress rapidly - Chinese, Bengali, Indian," the Telegraph quoted Tomlinson as saying.

"The results that are being achieved are higher and this has improved the numbers applying to university and entering professions such as medicine, veterinary science, law and accountancy.

"A very high value is placed on education among many ethnic groups, compared with white working-class families. There seems to be different value systems at work," he added.

Tomlinson's controversial comments may raise questions about the focus of Government funding.

Some critics have argued that funding allotted for ethnic minority pupils should be redirected. (ANI)