NICOLA Sturgeon has said she is “gobsmacked” by Scottish Labour’s claims the SNP Government was effectively barring people from “ordinary” backgrounds from courses at one of the country’s top universities.
She accused Labour’s education spokesperson Michael Marra of criticising her for “the fact that there are too many [pupils from deprived areas] going to university”.
It comes after Marra revealed data through The Scotsman newspaper that nine courses at Edinburgh University had no Scottish students enrolled other than those from either the most-deprived areas or from underperforming schools.
He told the paper the university appeared to have shut the door on pupils from “ordinary” backgrounds after figures published in the paper showed that 555 Scottish students not considered to be “deprived” were unsuccessful in their application to study law last year.
Speaking in Holyrood today, the First Minister said she considered it “good news” more deprived pupils were going to university and cited figures which showed that a “record number of 18-year-old Scots had secured a university place” in the most recent application cycle.
'The doors are closed'
She said this was up 20% since 2019, the last year exams had been held before 2022.
Marra said: “A mother in my constituency has provided me with data showing that this year for many courses at the University of Edinburgh outside of very welcome widening access places, there were zero Scots admitted.
“For Scottish pupils from ordinary families in an average school, the doors are closed, no matter their mind or their endeavour.
“For 440 years, the University of Edinburgh has admitted among the best and brightest of Scotland, Sir Walter Scott, Katherine Grainger, Stuart McDonald, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joanna Cherry.
“All great minds who worked hard and gained entry to study law here in our capital city. With funding frozen for 13 years … and the SNP’s cap on Scottish students, the historic promise of a Scottish education is broken. After five centuries, First Minister, how’s it come to this?”
'Gobsmacked'
Sturgeon hit back at the question saying she was surprised at the way the Labour MSP had framed what she considered an SNP success story.
She said: “I’m actually quite gobsmacked that that question has been put in that way by a Labour member of parliament.
“Let me first of all give these facts: a record number of young people secured places at university in this latest Ucas cycle; a record number of 18-year-old Scots have secured a university place – up 20% since 2019, the last year there were exams; and the data, yes, provides a really, really positive for those applying from deprived areas.
“18-year-olds securing places from the most deprived areas have increased by 31% since the 2019 cycle and all aged acceptances from the most deprived areas are up by 4%.
“And this is where I take issue with Michael Marra.
“In my earlier days as First Minister, I used to be regularly criticised for the fact that there were too few young people from deprived communities going to university – now I appear to be being criticised for the fact that there are too many going to university.
“I don’t come from a deprived background. I come from a working-class background, I went to a state school and when I studied law at Glasgow University, I was very much in the minority so I think it is really good news – within a context of a record number of young Scots at university – I think it’s really good news that we’re seeing more from the most-deprived areas actually going to our universities.”
