- Cymraeg
- English
 |
Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
 |
Higher costs driving young people away from university
July 20, 2006 11:00 PM
Peter Black addressing a Student Tuition Fees Rally outside the Assembly
The Labour Government's attempt to widen access is failing, as the proportion of state school students going to university continues to fall and drop-out rates rise, according to the latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
The survey shows that just 28.2% of young first-year degree students, starting courses in 2004-05 came from lower socio-economic groups, a 0.4% fall from the previous year. The proportion of teenagers who went to university from state schools or colleges also fell from 86.8% to 86.7%, whilst the projected drop-out rate for students who started courses in 2003-04 rose from 14.4% to 14.9%.
The figures are reflected in Wales where the proportion of students in Welsh Higher Education Institutions from the state sector fell from 93.1% in 2003/04 to 91.2% in 2004/05. However, Welsh Universities bucked the trend in enrolling students from lower socio-economic groups recording a rise from 28.1% to 28.4% in the same period.
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, Peter Black, blamed the fear of debt and the onset of tuition fees as major factors in the Government's failure to widen access to higher education:
"There's no getting away from the fact that top-up fees and the fear of debt is putting young people off from going to university," he said.
"The Government doesn't seem to be taking the long-term consequences of their tuition fees policy seriously.
"When school leavers choose whether to go university they are more concerned about their ability to manage bank overdrafts than their ability to study.
"Today's twenty-somethings face an unprecedented burden of debt which will affect their ability to buy homes, start families and save for old age."
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats