IN the debate over widening access to higher education it appears that only your editorial (“Progress has been poor on widening university access”, The Herald, February 5) highlights the fact that universities “can only recruit those with the right qualifications”, but it then goes on to state that “universities cannot pass the buck”' presumably to schools who are responsible for their pupils achieving those qualifications.
Instead of the blame game, might I suggest that an examination of Ucas applications is undertaken that produces statistics on a) numbers of applications to Scottish universities from Scotland, b) numbers of successful applications per university, postal addresses of applicants and their entry qualifications, and, c) numbers of unsuccessful applications, their postal addresses and reasons for lack of success, such as not meeting entry qualifications and/or poor personal statement.
Until we know the reasons for unsuccessful entry to higher education we shouldn't pass judgment on our universities.
Alan Macdonald,
10 Brook Street, Menstrie.
THE disappointing fall in standards in Scotland's schools has been well documented and the SNP panic response to re-introduce national testing is highly unlikely to improve matters. Even more disappointing are the latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency which clearly show that Scotland is now the least socially inclusive nation in the United Kingdom (“Slow progress in widening access to higher education”, The Herald, February 5).
The percentage of state-educated students in Scottish universities is the lowest of the four nations at 86.6 per cent. In England the figure is 89.6 per cent. Given that seven per cent of English pupils are privately educated compared to less than five per cent in Scotland, it is doubly depressing that Scotland's figure is so low.
Scotland's universities also have the lowest percentage of students from socio-economic classes 4, 5, 6 and 7 - 27.2 per cent in Scotland compared to England's 33.4 per cent and again the worst of the four nations.
After nine years of SNP rule Scotland is the least socially inclusive nation in the UK. For an individual young person the loss of opportunity will have a lifelong detrimental effect. For Scotland as a whole, the wasted talent of large numbers of young people is nothing short of shocking.
Education is, and always has been, a completely devolved matter but perhaps our First Minister should ask Westminster for a few tips on how to improve the social justice in our system?
Carole Ford
Former President, School Leaders Scotland,
132 Terregles Avenue, Glasgow.
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