Sandra´s article summary and opinion

Universities to get good job targets for poor students

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Universities must ensure that students have access to well-paid jobs. These access and participation plans will be rewritten by the rectors. A study has shown that universities selective universities are the least likely to help poor students earn the most. Students receiving free school meals attend all universities and are among the top 20 per cent of earners at age 30. Newer universities with lower entry requirements help twice as many poor students (2%) to get good jobs later in life than older, more selective institutions (1%). This is because they admit poorer students in a way that helps more disadvantaged students to access good jobs.

All universities now have targets, linked to their access and participation plans, for the proportion of disadvantaged students they must admit. Ms Donelan is now calling on institutions to do more than just increase the number of university students from poor backgrounds. These students need to deliver good results. However, the Ministry of Education says this means tackling drop-out rates, and supporting poorer students through university to graduation, and into highly skilled and well-paid jobs.

Universities will also be required to work more closely with colleges and institutes so that more students get better qualifications and have more options to choose from. This will require universities to offer more skills-related courses and flexible learning, such as degree apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications and part-time courses.

Personal opinion

In my opinion, it is a good option that universities gives all students the opportunity to study without taking into account the economic level of the students' families. In Spain, there are scholarships that help to that families who need this financial support to be able to offer a good education to their children.

Personally, I have benefited from the Erasmus scholarship which allowed me to study abroad for one academic year. Therefore, I support the fact that families in need are helped in order to promote education. On the other hand, I think that students' interest in studying should be taken into account and could be reflected in their academic results. Therefore, I would also value the academic record as well as the economic situation of each student.