Equality tsar vows to name and shame ‘elitist universities’

UNIVERSITIES which fail to recruit more students from deprived homes could be named and shamed by Scotland’s new equality ‘tsar’.

Sir Peter Scott said he would use an annual report to be ‘critical about anyone’ as he seeks to tackle elitism on Scottish campuses.

It comes after Sir Peter, the Scottish Government’s Commissioner for Fair Access, said universities must lower entry requirements for poorer students applying for high-demand courses.

Scotland has the lowest percentage of state school pupils and college students going to university in the UK, after an SNP drive to widen the social mix ended in failure. Last night Scottish Tory education spokesman Liz Smith said the principle of widening access to poorer students was sound, but she insisted it had to be done in the right way.

She said: ‘Nobody is against the principle, but one of the issues is that a greater number of students being recruited from deprived areas could lead to “displacement” of students with good qualifications from better-off backgrounds, unless more places are created.’

Sir Peter said he had no regulatory powers but stressed that he would be publishing an annual report, warning that he ‘can be critical about anyone in that – that is important’.

The comments suggest universities which fail to toe the line on widening access may be singled out for criticism in the annual report.

Sir Peter, an Oxford-educated professor, has said unless ancient institutions such as St Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow reduced grades for poorer students, unfairness within higher education would continue.

The proportion of undergraduates at St Andrews University who previously attended state schools or colleges in 2015-16 was 56.7 per cent, down from 58.9 per cent the previous year. However, the proportion from the 40 per cent most deprived areas now study-

‘Have a reduced chance’

ing at St Andrews has risen from 12.9 per cent to 14.7 per cent in the past year.

At Edinburgh University, 69.7 per cent of undergraduates are from the state sector, up from 68.5 per cent. But the proportion from the most deprived areas has dipped from 17.6 per cent to 16.5 per cent.

Universities, including Aberdeen and Edinburgh, have said they already make some grade allowances for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Sir Peter said: ‘Someone who has pretty good grades from a school in a deprived area is at least as good as someone who has much better grades from a school that sends a high proportion to university.

‘Looking at the figures in Scotland, it is clear that those from deprived backgrounds have a reduced chance, and that cannot be right.’

He added: ‘I don’t underestimate the challenge. There is no lack of goodwill on the part of colleges and universities. We are moving in the right direction, but it is not going to be easy.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said Sir Peter must hold to account ‘all those with a role to play in delivering progress’.