Scotland lagging behind rest of UK as youngsters shun universities
Scotland has the lowest rate of youngsters seeking to go to university in the UK – despite free tuition for students north of the border.
The university application rate for all students in Scotland fell slightly to 32.7 per cent this summer, according to university admissions body UCAS. This compares with 39.5 per cent in England, 32.9 per cent in Wales and 46.9 per cent in Northern Ireland.
The figures also indicate that Scotland is lagging behind England in the drive to get more youngsters from deprived backgrounds into university – although this was rejected by the Scottish Government
There was a 3 per cent increase in 18-year-olds from the most deprived areas in Scotland applying to university earlier this Summer, while the rise south of the border was double this rate at six per cent.
But these figures were branded “totally misleading” by Scotland’s universities minister Richard Lochhead who said measures of deprivation are “not fully comparable” north and south of the border.
But Mr Lochhead said: “The number of applicants for fulltime higher education provided in Scottish colleges is not included so the statistics do not provide a full or accurate picture for widening access in Scotland.”
Tory education spokeswoman Liz Smith said progress is being made in opening universities up to poorer youngsters in Scotland, but claimed that bursary support is better in England.
She added: “The fact that there is greater confidence among young people from deprived backgrounds to apply for a place than is currently the case in Scotland.
“This is yet another stark message for the SNP that the focus for improving the situationnorthofthebordershould be on school education – specifically narrowing the attainment gap – rather than on artificial targets for SIMD quotas within universities.”