The proportion of Scottish students from the most deprived areas embarking on a full-time degree for the first time hit 16.7 per cent in 2023-24 - up from 16.3 per cent the previous year and on par with the highest proportion recorded, .
The government has set a target that by 2030, students from the 20 per cent most deprived backgrounds should represent 20 per cent of entrants to higher education. The next milestone is 18 per cent by 2026.
The highest proportion recorded to date had been 16.7 per cent in 2020-21, and that was hit again in 2023-24, according to the latest figures out today.
However, the total number of Scottish students from the 20 per cent most deprived areas embarking on full-time first degrees in 2023-24 was lower than in 2020-21.
In 2023-24, 5,445 Scottish students from the most disadvantaged areas began studying for full-time degrees for the first time, as compared with 5,515 in 2020-21. In 2022-23, that figure was 5,310.
The report says early indications are that the “proportion from the most deprived areas is likely to increase further for 2024-25 entrants”.
However, the Scottish Liberal Democrats say that, based on the current rate of progress, it could take over a decade to meet the target.
The party’s education spokesperson, Willie Rennie, said: “Universities have done a lot of work in trying to widen access, but they can only do so much. Ultimately, the SNP’s failure to close the attainment gap at a school level undermines that good work because it is leaving lots of young people from deprived backgrounds without the support they need to get into university.”
Target missed
The report also shows that a number of Scottish universities are failing to hit the individual target of at least 10 per cent of students coming from the most deprived areas.
The data shows that, in 2023-24, 31.4 per cent of full-time first degree entrants at the University of the West of Scotland were from the 20 per cent most deprived areas - but those figures fall to 6.5 and 7.2 per cent respectively for the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University, which is also located in the city.
Care-experienced students
When it comes to care-experienced students, the report finds that 1.9 per cent of Scottish full-time first-degree entrants in 2023-24 were care-experienced, amounting to a total of 620 entrants. This has increased every year since 2016-17, says the report, when the proportion of care-experienced entrants was 0.6 per cent and the total number 170.
In 2022-23, 1.8 per cent of Scottish full-time first-degree entrants were care-experienced, with the total number of entrants standing at 585.
Responding to the figures, the minister for higher and further education, Graeme Dey, said they were “a testament to the great work being done by both our universities and colleges to improve access”.
However, he said there was “more to do to meet the goal of 20 per cent of all entrants being from the 20 per cent most deprived communities by 2030”.
He said he would continue to work with the sector.
Financial challenges
The figures come as Scottish universities report facing unprecedented financial challenges.
Universities Scotland, the sector’s representative body, says it is facing .
Most prominent is the dire financial situation faced by the University of Dundee.
In June, it was announced that the university would receive an extra £40 million from the Scottish government as the institution continues to tackle its financial crisis.
The university currently faces a £35 million deficit and plans to shed hundreds of jobs.
However, an independent report found its woes were largely “self-inflicted”.
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