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Drop in university students from most-deprived areas Nicola Sturgeon: 'Work to do' on university access
(about 2 hours later)
The number of students from Scotland's poorest areas going to university has fallen, new figures have suggested. The first minister has acknowledged there is "work to do" after statistics showed a fall in the number of 18-year-olds from Scotland's poorest areas going to university.
Data from the university admissions body Ucas showed a drop in applications and places awarded to 18 year olds from the most-deprived 20% of areas. But Nicola Sturgeon insisted it was "quite simply wrong" to suggest progress was not being made.
The figures showed 1,215 applicants from this group got a place in 2015, down from 1,305 the previous year. She was speaking at first minister's questions after the figures were raised by Labour leader Kezia Dugdale.
The Scottish government said it was "committed to education based on ability to learn, not ability to pay". The data was released by university admissions body Ucas.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives said the "damning report" confirmed that the SNP "just isn't doing enough to close the attainment gap or increase opportunity among Scotland's least-privileged". It showed that 1,215 applicants from the most deprived 20% of areas were awarded a university place last year, down from 1,305 the previous year.
Rich and poor Most affluent
The figure was also lower than the 1,235 successful applicants from that group in 2013 - but higher than the figures for the three years before that.
There was also an increase in 18-year-olds from Scotland's most affluent communities going to university, with the figure rising from 4,605 in 2014 to 4,685 last year.
The Scottish government has placed a major focus on cutting the attainment gap between rich and poor, and increasing the number of Scots from the worst-off communities who make it to university.The Scottish government has placed a major focus on cutting the attainment gap between rich and poor, and increasing the number of Scots from the worst-off communities who make it to university.
However, while the number of successful applicants from the poorest areas fell across Scotland as a whole, there was an increase in Scots from the most affluent communities going to university. Ms Sturgeon told the Holyrood chamber that Ms Dugdale was right to ask her about the statistics, which the first minister said "show that we are absolutely right to prioritise fair access to university".
The Ucas data showed this figure rose from 4,605 to 4,685 over the period. She added: "Looking at 18-year-olds exclusively, the numbers from our most deprived areas dropped slightly from 2014 to 2015 but nevertheless are up considerably on 2010.
Of those looking to start a course in October 2015, a total of 1,935 of the applicants who met the June 2015 deadline were from the most-deprived communities, a drop of 60 from the previous year. "The more fundamental point is that not everyone who goes to university goes at 18, so when you look at the figures for people of all ages, the numbers from the most deprived areas both applying to and being accepted to university is up in 2015 compared to 2014, in both cases by about 10%.
"So yes, we have got work to do, I have been very clear about that. That is why implementing the Widening Access report is so important.
"But it is simply wrong to say that progress isn't being made."
Ms Dugdale said Ms Sturgeon had used "three different excuses" rather than explaining why her government "had not done enough".
'Grants and bursaries'
She added: "What these figures very clearly show is that there has been a drop in the number of people from poorer backgrounds applying to university.
"There has been an even bigger drop in the number of poorer people being accepted when they do apply. This is what happens when you cut grants and bursaries by a third.
"This is a government that recently tried to scrap a scheme that secured university places for the poorest students, and students are worried that the first minister will try that again."
Ahead of the debate, the Scottish Conservatives' education spokeswoman Liz Smith said the "damning" Ucas report confirmed that the SNP "just isn't doing enough to close the attainment gap or increase opportunity among Scotland's least-privileged".
And Ross Greer of the Scottish Greens added: "If we want to encourage more students from less well-off backgrounds we need to tackle financial and cultural barriers, and do more to reach out to those students to support their aspirations. No one should be put off applying for university because of their family's income."
A spokeswoman for Universities Scotland described the figures as being a "very useful but highly-detailed and complex data set that needs further examination".A spokeswoman for Universities Scotland described the figures as being a "very useful but highly-detailed and complex data set that needs further examination".
She said: "The one factor that underpins all of the data for Scotland is that whoever you are and whatever your background, it is a lot more competitive to get into university in Scotland than it is in other parts of the UK, and that comes down to the limited availability of places here in Scotland."She said: "The one factor that underpins all of the data for Scotland is that whoever you are and whatever your background, it is a lot more competitive to get into university in Scotland than it is in other parts of the UK, and that comes down to the limited availability of places here in Scotland."
A Scottish government spokesman said the figures showed "a long-term improvement in the number of Scottish 18-year-olds from our most deprived areas applying to, and gaining a place at university, since 2010".
He added: "This government is clear that every child, whatever their background, should have an equal chance of attending university.
"Our actions to widen access have delivered progress but we recognise there is more to do."
'Cultural barriers'
The Scottish Conservatives have called for students to pay a charge of up to £6,000 after finishing their studies to boost investment in education.
The party's education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "The Scottish Conservatives have been saying for quite some time that students from the most-deprived areas in Scotland are being let down by the SNP government."
Scottish Labour's Iain Gray said: "The SNP claim that education is their top priority yet after a nearly decade of SNP government fewer university applicants come from the poorest backgrounds and even fewer actually get in."
And Ross Greer of the Scottish Greens added: "If we want to encourage more students from less well off backgrounds we need to tackle financial and cultural barriers, and do more to reach out to those students to support their aspirations. No one should be put off applying for university because of their family's income."