Cameron is right on university access - yet so, so wrong

The fact that David Cameron got his figures wrong when he called Cambridge University a ‘disgrace’ for its intake of black students is really missing the point. His broader point was absolutely spot on; that elite universities are ignoring their obligations to take on a broader spectrum of students rather than, as at the moment, overwhelmingly white middle and upper class students.

The intake of ethnic minority students into Oxbridge is less than half of that into the general university population, and one college at Oxford has not admitted a black student for 5 years. The boom in A level students from minorities attending university has not translated to a similar rise at the Oxbridge universities, nor the Russell Group of elite universities, despite a rise in applications. Oxford university put this down to the fact that ethnic minority students disproportionately apply for the three most oversubscribed courses, but even then they are less likely to get on to these courses. There is also little evidence that Oxbridge are attempting to persuade ethnic students to apply for other less subscribed courses.

As well as ethnicity, Oxbridge also appear to discriminate by socio-economic status. Oxbridge universities overwhelmingly recruit students from the top three socio-economic groups, to the tune of almost 90%. It is still an unfortunate truth that more than half of students in the whole of the UK are also from these same three groups but none draw more from the upper and middle classes than the elite universities. Is this because richer A level students are brighter, or is it because they are more privileged, and their parents money can buy greater opportunities?

It is great to see that David Cameron has recognised there is a problem, but his moral outrage is tempered by the policies that his coalition government has so far introduced. The scrapping of the EMA will impact on the ability of poorer students, disproportionately ethnic minorities, to stay on in further education, as will policies that have slowed down economic recovery. The tripling (in most cases, especially amongst the elite universities) of university tuition fees will, without doubt, deter poorer students from attending university, while in the long term cuts to Sure Start will ensure that many disadvantaged children will be denied the best possible start in their education, something that has been emphatically proven to increase educational chances later on in life. Nick Clegg campaigned against all of these policies during the election, drawing much of his parties support because of his stance, only to pull off a complete U-turn once in government. While in office Labour made strides in access to higher education, but made only small roads in access to Oxbridge universities, mainly on state school access (although this is mainly from state schools in well heeled areas). Partly this is because many policies were long term, such as Sure Start, and results wouldn’t be seen for many years, and partly it is because they could have tried harder

Cameron also needs to look in his own back yard when it comes to representation. The Conservative party in Parliament is overwhelmingly made up of, that’s right, white male public schoolboys, nearly 40% of whom went to Oxbridge. Just 16% of the parties MP’s are female, and just 4% come from ethnic minorities. The Lib Dems, on the other hand, have NO ethnic minority MP’s, and the lowest proportion of female MP’s in Parliament. Labour has 31% female MP’s, by far the highest of the main political parties although still under representative of the general population, likewise ethnic minority MP’s, with 6%

Representation in Parliament is partly a by product of inequalities at university. Elite universities need to work closer with schools in poorer areas to guide and encourage the brightest students to ensure they have the best chance to enter these establishments, especially if they're goimg to be allowed to charge £9000 a year. And Cameron needs to rethink his policies if he is to be taken seriously on access to top universities