Worse by degrees

THE Scottish higher education system was founded on noble egalitarian principles. An ambitious boy from a humble background – the ‘lad o’ pairts’ – could, through a bursary system, gain a university education. Historically, this was a goal that remained beyond the grasp of most youngsters in England.

Now Scotland has the lowest percentage of state school pupils and college students going to university in the UK.

It is against this backdrop that measures are being introduced aimed at recruiting a greater number from poorer households, including the lowering of entrance criteria.

This is the result of many years of political pressure which included plans, now dropped, to ‘fine’ universities which failed to toe the line on ‘widening access’.

Clearly, our proud ‘lad o’ pairts’ heritage should be restored, but while these latest plans are well-intentioned, they may prove counterproductive. The Tories are right to warn that middle-class students face being displaced from campuses.

Professor Lindsay Paterson also points out that ‘contextualised’ admission – judging a candidate on their social background rather than just on exam grades – has a variable track record.

The system is used at the University of Edinburgh, where figures in February showed the proportion of undergraduates from the 40 per cent most deprived areas had dipped in the previous year, from 17.6 per cent to 16.5 per cent.

Brexit is likely to lead to a decline in EU students, which could free up space for Scots of all backgrounds. But isn’t the more fundamental problem that reform of state schools is urgently needed to produce candidates capable of taking degrees, without a need for the bar to be lowered?

Instead the SNP is presiding over a sticking-plaster solution that risks triggering a long-term slide in educational standards.