Quarter more university students than 10 years ago
26 January, 2010
THE number of people going to university has risen by nearly a quarter in Scotland over the past decade, according to new statistics.In 1999, there were 24,943 Scots who had been accepted on to a university place, compared to 31,030 last year.The figure for the whole of the UK represented a 44 per cent rise, according to the universities admissions body, UCAS.
In 1999 there were 334,594 accepted applicants across the UK, compared to 481,854 last year.
That represents a 5.5 per cent increase on 2008 in a year that saw record applications – a phenomenon attributed to a recession jobs shortage. The lower figure north of the Border is due to Scotland having had a higher proportion of the population in higher education a decade ago than England. That disparity led former Prime Minister Tony Blair into creating a target of 50 per cent participation in England, accompanied by a structured and funded expansion, absent north of the Border.
Read the full artilcle in The Scotsman
