As we strive towards a fairer society, University of Aberdeen students braved the ice and snow this week to collect signatures for a petition calling on management to open up the University to 1“everyone who deserves it”. With thanks to Gordon Maloney.
A recent report by the National Union of Students in Scotland, 2Unlocking Scotland’s Potential, showed that of all the Scottish students at the University of Aberdeen just over 3% of them – barely 50 students – came from the most disadvantaged 20% of society, making it the second worst University in Scotland on access.
The petition is part of a national campaign calling on university principals to:
“Make a commitment to fairer access, retention and articulation and ensure they make real progress to really unlock Scotland’s potential.”
Noting that more needs to be done in this regard, Aberdeen University Students’ Association Welfare Officer Gordon Maloney said:
“Scotland has the worst record on access in the UK and Aberdeen is the second worst in Scotland.
“All the evidence suggests students from under-privileged backgrounds who get into university through access schemes often end up doing much better than fellow students from more wealthy backgrounds.
“What this means is that competent people are being denied a place at university, ultimately, because of their social class and that’s unacceptable.”
1 The petition can be accessed at http://www.unlockscotlandspotential.org/
2 Full report available at http://www.nus.org.uk/Documents/NUS%20Scotland/Unlocking%20Scotland’s%20Potential.pdf
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