Paid-for places at elite universities? What a progressive idea

By Luke Bozier / @lukebozier

Most people scoffed at the idea circulated a few days ago of making it possible for elite universities to assign a number of admissions places to applicants who weren’t necessarily of high ability but who could pay a premium on tuition fees. These applicants would essentially pay their way into university, and would be paying their way through poor educational achievement. It smacks of elitism and nepotism. I can’t quite understand why anyone in the coalition would have thought it to be a good idea.

However, the left’s expected descent into rancour on the policy means we may have missed an opportunity. If you boil the idea down to its core, you’ll find a principle – which if applied differently – could result in a public-meets-private solution to a pressing social issue.

The problem is quite clear and obvious, and if left unaddressed will likely get worse. Only a small fraction of the students admitted to Britain’s most prestigious universities come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The figures vary but according to Nick Clegg and Michael Gove, only 40 pupils who claimed free school meals were admitted into Oxbridge last year.

Considering that education is one of the pillars of a socially mobile nation, the low number of disadvantaged kids going to the best universities is rightly a worry to all of us. At the same time, public trust in large companies is at an all-time low. Especially in the financial services industry. Banks, large energy companies and the like have a responsibility to the society they operate within, and most of them realise the need to give something back to the communities which they serve.

Why not take this commercial need and social need and create a win-win solution by allowing and indeed encouraging large corporations to buy up a number of elite university places for disadvantaged pupils each year? If elite universities are willing to take under-performing but rich children under their wings in return for financial reward, they should be able to do the same for under-performing but poor kids. When you consider that socio-economic deprivation does affect a child’s chances to attain educationally as they grow, an 18 year old who doesn’t have a line of A* A-levels might have more raw intelligence and capacity to learn than meets the eye.

The government backed off from the reported policy of allowing rich people to buy their way into the best universities. They should bring the policy back – not for the benefit of rich people but for the benefit of poor kids, to whom a degree from Oxford or Cambridge might mean the world of difference in attaining a better future. And Britain’s biggest companies should be encouraged to foot the bill. It would be a win-win result for everyone; except perhaps rich children who didn’t try hard enough to get good grades.