Even in a country that has made little significant progress in widening access to universities (and has a worse record than England, Wales and Northern Ireland), the latest figures are shocking.
According to statistics obtained by The Herald, 25 per cent of the pupils accepted for medical school in Scotland are from private schools. On its own, it is a disturbing fact, but added to the fact that only about one in 20 pupils attends a private school, it is proof of a profound unfairness at the heart of Scottish society.
There are two reasons we should be disturbed by the figures. Firstly, they demonstrate the students training to be doctors in Scotland are not representative of society as a whole and that means our doctors are not either. In an ideal world, doctors would share some of the similar life experiences to the people they treat, but we are still a long way from that ideal.
Secondly, the medical school figures prove, once again, that pupils from deprived areas do not have a fair chance at accessing a good education in Scotland. Some progress has been made, but it has been slow and many institutions, particularly some of the older universities, have looked resistant to change.
The universities do deserve some credit for running programmes to widen access, some of which have had strong results; there is also only so much they can do in the system as it is currently structured. Judgments have to be made about potential students using the information to hand and if pupils from the independent sector are the ones getting the grades and the right work experience and there is an entry system that looks for those kinds of indicators, private pupils will do well. Medicine is also one of the most highly competitive courses, with around 11 students fighting for every place, so it is always going to be likely that only the very best qualified students will succeed.
The challenge for universities is to continue to seek the best students while doing their best to encourage more students from deprived backgrounds generally and in medicine in particular. The case last week of Joanne Martin, from Possilpark in Glasgow, proved how hard it can be for a student in her circumstances to be accepted into medical school. Miss Martin had the qualifications she needed but the fact she struggled to find a place demonstrates that the system does not make it easy for a candidate like her.
There is naturally some caution about the idea of lowering the entrance qualifications for some applicants, but when the access processes are still so skewed, action is needed at all levels but particularly at an early stage in schools. Universities have also been doing some good work in going into deprived areas and inspiring pupils to apply to university. But there is little point in them doing so unless they also ensure their application procedures properly reflect the barriers some pupils face in achieving the qualifications they have. In The Herald last week, Joanne Martin said she tried to explain to universities that she did not come from a private school and did not have the option to sit six Highers in fifth year, but that no one heard her. Universities should now start listening to Miss Martin and others like her - and act on what they say.
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