Rob, a former Shadow Higher Education Minister, has published a report entitled ‘Achieving Fair Access: Removing Barriers, Realising Potential’, as part of the Fair Access To University Group (FAUG) of Conservative MPs. The report makes a series of bold recommendations to enhance social mobility by increasing accessibility for disadvantaged students to the best universities, based on merit.
The report, which Rob co-authored with fellow Conservative MPs Elizabeth Truss, Graham Stuart and James Clappison, looks at the current imbalance in access to Britain’s best universities between those educated in the private and state sector and particularly focuses on the barriers faced by disadvantaged young people.
Rob said: “Much of the recent debate on access has focused on the proposed new head of the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), Professor Les Ebdon. Of course I am aware of Prof Ebdon’s widely reported views on widening access and the only point I would make is that they do not correspond with the weight of published evidence.
"It is the view of FAUG and this report that OFFA, by interfering with the admissions policy of individual Universities, is heading in the wrong direction. Indeed, we believe that in the future OFFA’s influence on our world class institutions could be harmful.
"The evidence in our report and other published and compelling reports confirms that the problem recruiting disadvantaged students to top universities does not lie with university admissions policy. Any attempt to enforce social rather than academic admissions criteria upon universities is not only a distraction but counter-productive to the overall well-being of the sector. It is our strong recommendation that the powers and focus of OFFA are urgently reviewed.”
One of the report's key findings is that intervention to improve standards at the pre-university secondary school stage, thus raising standards in order to level the playing field between state and independent school pupils, is the best way to improve fairness, recognise talent and ensure that students, regardless of background, are able to access top institutions. Moreover, the report recognises that universities themselves need to be free from interference to achieve this end.
Elizabeth Truss MP said: “A major reason few low income children go to top universities is poor subject choice. For example, only 50 per cent of comprehensive schools offer Further Maths A Level, putting many out of contention for Maths and Physics. OFFA’s focus should be on getting schools to offer and promote these subjects.”
Specifically, amongst the things the report recommends:
· Abolishing the UCAS points system
· Encouraging schools to publish information on the number of students applying and being accepted to top universities and which subjects these students studied - using this to rank schools according to pupils’ higher education destinations
· Raising the status of the teaching profession through the publication of teachers’ academic qualifications and greater incentives in pay to attract high achievers,
· Encouraging the study of the more rigorous subjects by publicising not only the entry requirements for university courses but also the successful applicants’ qualifications,
· Tackling misconceptions about the affordability of university, as propagated during the tuition fees protest.
· Reviewing the powers and focus of OFFA.
Commenting Graham Stuart MP, chairman of the Education Select Committee, said: “Why is it that bright children from poor homes do less well here than in other countries? How can we get the best out of everyone, not just the better off? Those are the questions we try to answer in this paper and will pursue with our group. We’re determined that government policy should follow the evidence and not political prejudice.
"We know from Cambridge’s research that prior attainment is the key guide to degree success, not background or other factors. Therefore we know that primary way to improve access for those from low income families is to raise their academic attainment at school, not play social engineering at university entrance.
"Artificial quotas for our most selective and successful universities are wrong in principle, break pledges made by ministers on university autonomy and do no favours to students who will be unable to cope. We want to address the real problems so as to improve poorer children’s real life chances. Doing anything else lets down the very children we are all supposed to help.
"To achieve fair access you have to remove the barriers to potential – and this report tries to do just that.”
James Clappison MP said: “I am very concerned that appointing Professor Ebdon to OFFA will have a very negative effect on the ongoing quality of the University sector. I would like to see an urgent review of OFFA’s powers and focus to ensure it supports our world class universities and doesn’t undermine them.”