THE Scottish Government should consider increasing the number of funded places in higher education to help boost access for poorer students, a new report has said.
It comes amid news that record levels of Scottish 18-year-olds from deprived areas are going to university, according to official figures.
Peter Scott, who is Scotland’s commissioner for fair access, said bolder action was needed to speed up progress towards “challenging but achievable” targets.
Ministers want 20 per cent of new entrants to universities and colleges to come from the most deprived parts of Scotland by 2030.
In his first report in the role, Scott said that while progress had been steady, current momentum “may not be sufficient” to meet the benchmark.
He concluded that while free higher education for Scottish students provided “the foundation on which fair access can be built ... other decisive action is needed”.
The report also calls for universities to make much “bolder” use of contextual admissions, emphasising that “making lower offers to applicants from deprived backgrounds is not ‘dumbing down’ entry standards”.
Higher education minister Shirley-Anne Somerville, said the government would consider the recommendations carefully.
She said: “Developing a truly fair system requires systemic change and will not be achieved simply by just expanding the system.”
The statistics on students from deprived areas going to university, released by Ucas in its End of Cycle Report 2017, show the highest entry rate of 12.3 per cent for those from the most underprivileged backgrounds.
Offer rates for 18-year-olds to Scottish universities are also at their highest since 2009.
Somerville said: "I want every child to be able to reach their full potential – no matter their background – which is why this Government has ambitious targets to widen access to higher education.
"Ucas statistics show record numbers of young people from our most deprived areas getting into university.
"I welcome the progress being made, which shows what can be achieved when we focus on making education fairer – but I want to see higher education institutions go further and faster to widen access."
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