Equal access to university?

Students from wealthier backgrounds are still more likely to go to university than those from poorer families. Barra Roantree, of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, looks at the impact of the recent changes in funding for higher education. He then examines why policy-makers aiming to reduce this inequality should focus interventions earlier in children’s lives

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Concern about equal access to higher education for students from different backgrounds has been a prominent feature of the debate about education policy in recent years, both in the UK and abroad. Eligibility for free school meals (FSMs) is an indicator of social disadvantage that is often used in this country. Participation in higher education among English pupils eligible for FSMs currently stands at only 14%, less than half the rate for pupils from better-off backgrounds. On some measures, the socioeconomic gap in higher-education participation worsened in England over the 1980s and 1990s despite the efforts of successive governments.

This article examines the rationale for and impact of the most recent reforms to higher education funding. It then shows why government intervention would prove more effective if it were targeted earlier in children’s lives.