LEARNERS from Scotland’s 20 poorest areas must make up a fifth of new university students within less than 15 years, according to a new report.
Those from areas such as Ferguslie Park in Paisley and Possilpark in Glasgow are four times less likely to enter higher education than those from the wealthiest, such as Craiglockhart in Edinburgh.
The Scottish Government set up an expert task force to work out a blueprint on closing the gap in 2014.
Now the Commission on Widening Access has published 34 recommendations it says can wipe out educational inequality.
However, Dame Ruth Silver, who chaired the body, warned change will not happen without a coordinated response from across education and government.
She said: “Access is a whole system problem and it will require system-wide change to solve it.”
Targets include ensuring 20 per cent of first-year students come from the 20 worst-off areas by 2030, with new admissions thresholds drawn up for these candidates.
By as early as next year, those who have been in care and meet entry requirements should be entitled to a place on a university course and a Commissioner for Fair Access should be brought in to “drive the agenda” across the country.
Student living costs loans should also be replaced with a non-repayable bursary by the start of the 2017-18 academic year and all institutions must be “as open and transparent as possible” over admissions policies and “seek to maximise applications from disadvantaged learners”.
The Commission was set up to help Scotland meet Nicola Sturgeon’s goal of ensuring “a child born today in one of our most deprived communities will, by the time he or she leaves school, have the same chance of going to university as a child born in one of our least deprived communities”.
In the foreword to the report, Silver called this a “challenging objective”.
Launching the report at Glasgow University, she said: “Access is an issue of fairness and it is our firm belief that Scotland has a moral, social and economic duty to tackle an inequality that is borne out in the latest statistics. Scotland has a truly world class higher education system, perhaps the most powerful weapon there is to combat socioeconomic inequality.
“The social, cultural and financial benefits of higher education can be transmitted between generations, breaking cycles of deprivation and contributing to a fairer, more prosperous and inclusive Scotland.
“There is also an economic imperative to ensure Scotland does not miss out on the economic potential of some of our finest talents.”
Silver continued, saying: “Access is a sophisticated and subtle problem, rooted in family homes, local communities, and complex mix of factors that shape aspiration and in the cultural differences between socioeconomic groups.
“It is exacerbated by the systemic unfairness evident in the admissions and selection processes of institutions, in the school attainment gap and in the efficiency of transitions between education sectors.
“The Commission has consistently been presented with proposals for bold and creative action and are confident that there is an appetite for radical but realistic change.
“We pass this report to the Scottish Government in the strong belief that implementing these recommendations will make a significant dent in entrenched disadvantage, improving life chances and social mobility.”
Responding to the report, Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust social mobility organisation and of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “Scotland faces a real access challenge, and it is vital that these radical measures are put in place to address it.
“We particularly hope that the next Scottish Government introduces the independent Commissioner for Fair Access speedily so that he or she works closely with universities to ensure that disadvantaged students with the potential to succeed get the chance to do so.”
Education Secretary Angela Constance said Holyrood will “immediately accept” the recommended targets.
She added: “Careful consideration is needed on the detail of the Commission’s other recommendations and I will work closely with key stakeholders on how best to take this work forward.
“But agreeing to take forward these targets leaves no-one in any doubt that this government is determined to make urgent progress on achieving our ambition of equal access.”
The National View: The brightest from poorest backgrounds must be supported to go to university
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