Minister tells Oxbridge: Do more to help poor students

Universities Secretary John Denham sparked a new social class row with Oxbridge today, demanding that "highly-selective" colleges do more to help poor students.

He hit back at Cambridge vicechancellor, Alison Richard, who attacked government "meddling" in university affairs.

In remarks that will further inflame the row, Mr Denham condemned Professor Richard's remark that universities do not exist as "engines for promoting social justice".

The row follows a decade of government policy aimed at increasing the number of working-class students going to university.

Both Oxford and Cambridge have launched massive fundraising drives to secure their independence from government.

Addressing a conference of the vice-chancellors' group Universities UK in Cambridge, Mr Denham rounded on Professor Richard's comments. "It has been suggested that universities, and by extension, education, is not an engine for social justice," he said.

"I have to say I profoundly disagree. Education is the most powerful tool we have in achieving social justice.

"From that recognition, the responsibility arises not to lower standards but to seek out, support and nurture talent, wherever it exists.

"It must allow the most talented and hard-working of our young people to achieve their full potential, irrespective of what kind of social background they came from, or the school they went to.

"This does not mean imposing admissions policies on universities. But it does mean universities recognising their full responsibilities in helping to seek out and develop the best of talents, wherever they are in our society."

In a comment clearly aimed at Oxford and Cambridge, Mr Denham added: "Highly-selective institutions that draw from a narrow social base will ultimately lose out if they deny themselves access to talented students from all backgrounds. That is the fundamental case for both widening participation and fair access."

His remarks will deepen the longrunning row between elite universities and ministers, which stretches back to the Laura Spence case eight years ago. The then chancellor Gordon Brown attacked Oxford for rejecting state-educated Ms Spence to study medicine, despite the fact she had achieved a string of A grades.

The number of state pupils offered places at Cambridge has risen by four per cent this year to 59 per cent of admissions - the largest proportion since 1981.