FEWER young people in Scotland are worried about going to university because of money concerns than their counterparts elsewhere in Britain, according to a new research.
FEWER young people in Scotland are worried about going to university because of money concerns than their counterparts elsewhere in Britain, according to a new research.
The study found that while more than half the teenagers questioned across the UK cited the cost of higher education as a concern, just a quarter of those in Scotland did so.
Polling organisation ComRes carried out the research for academics and lecturers union the University and College Union, interviewing 2006 school pupils and college students aged between 13 and 17.
The report said: ??Those who intend to go on to higher education say that they have the same concerns as those who do not intend to - the expense, lack of guarantee of a job after graduating, and avoiding debt. There is little significant difference by gender for perceived barriers of going to university overall, indicating that concerns about higher education are widespread across the UK among young people.
??The exception to this is for those who plan to go on to higher education in Scotland, who are less likely to say that they are concerned that higher education is too expensive (25%) than young people who plan to go on to higher education overall (53%).??
Universities in Scotland do not charge tuition fees to home students, while in other parts of the UK students have to pay fees of up to £9,000 a year.
The controversial policy was introduced by the Coalition government at Westminster in 2010 and sparked angry street protests. It was developed as the government's response to a review of higher education funding by former BP chief Lord Browne.
The UCU report also found that across the UK, privately educated children are much more likely to want to go to university than state school pupils. Some 78 per cent of pupils at private school said they wanted to go on to higher education, compared to just 62 per cent of state school students. Just 31 per cent of college students wanted to study at university.
It also found social class and family background was a factor in shaping children??s ambitions. Almost one in five (17 per cent) pupils in social grade DE reported receiving no advice or guidance about the different options available to them when they leave school or college, compared to just one in 10 (9 per cent) pupils in social grade AB.
Older teenage boys were also less likely to want to go than older teenage girls.
Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary, said: ??Worryingly, class, gender and schooling still play far too large a part in whether or not young people even consider university, with boys from state schools and the poorest economic backgrounds faring worst.??
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ??Young Scots don??t have to pay fees of up to £9,000 and with the lowest average student loan debt in the UK, they are better placed to pursue the education path that??s right for them, based on their ability to learn, rather than the ability to pay.??
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