Howells: There is no admissions conspiracy
Kim Howells, Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education, today stressed that there was “no admissions conspiracy” in relation to university access.
Some academics have publicly expressed concerns that the Government’s drive to increase the number of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds may force them to turn down better qualified applicants from the private sector, or accept those who are not academically able to cope with rigorous courses in the interests of “equality.”
Today Mr Howells sought to address these concerns, stating: “There is no admissions conspiracy. This Government does not have a back door admissions agenda. We are not in the business of using universities to socially engineer our higher education landscape. Admissions are a matter for universities.”
In a speech at the Universities UK “Fair Admissions to Higher Education” conference in London, he sought to “tear down some of the ‘myths'” that surround university admissions, benchmarks and the new Office for Fair Access.
He argued that the “triple A approach” of raising attainment, tackling low aspiration and increasing applications amongst families with no tradition of higher education was the key to widening participation. The Minister stressed: “Interfering in admissions is strictly off the menu.”
Mr Howells said that the Government’s widening participation agenda was about ensuring that all who have the ability and the potential to progress to higher education were able and encouraged to apply for the courses that best suited their needs.
As such, he sought to explode myths that had surrounded the admissions debate. Some of the “myths” tackled included the idea that there were some quotas that dictated how many students from lower incomes every university had to accept; the belief that universities would get penalised for not meeting their benchmarks or their quotas; and the idea that the Office for Fair Access would have a remit over admissions and it will not allow any university which is way off its benchmark to increase its fees.
