David Willetts lobbied universities on behalf of rejected students

Universities minister raised worries about baccalaureate results at Hampshire college David Willetts, the universities minister, has lobbied the vice-chancellors of three universities on behalf of candidates who failed to do well enough to secure a place, the Guardian has learned. In two cases the candidates were constituents of the minister, who is MP for Havant in Hampshire. In a third, the candidate did not live in the constituency but attended a local sixth-form college. The minister’s personal intervention comes amid an unprecedented squeeze on university places, due to a record demand and a cap on government-funded degree courses at English universities. In one case Willetts wrote to the vice-chancellor of Exeter University about a candidate who achieved 26 points in the international baccalaureate (IB) diploma, the equivalent of A-level grades BCC. In a highly competitive year, the university’s typical offer spans AAA-ABB at A-level, 36-32 points in the IB. The letter was passed to the admissions office, which did not offer the candidate a place. It has prompted dismay at the university, where some regarded it as an attempt to interfere in the fairness and transparency of the admissions process. Willetts told the Guardian he had approached three universities after being contacted by constituents over the IB results of his local sixth-form college. “My local college, Havant College, started the IB for some students two years ago. It’s the first set of IB results. Constituents have been to see me at my surgery – it looks as if students in the first year of IB at Havant College have underperformed on expectations.” He said he had been approached by “something over a dozen” parents and had written three times, at their request. “I have stated explicitly that I am writing as a constituency MP, not as universities minister. I don’t think my being universities minister should stop me doing the usual things that a constituency MP could do. I was writing on constituency notepaper, on behalf of my constituents.” Willetts said he had written to express concern at “serious underperformance, way below performance at GCSE and what was predicted for them”. The letter went on to ask how it might be possible for the university to “consider these exceptional circumstances”. Asked whether particularly assertive constituents were receiving favourable treatment, Willetts said: “I think MPs should act on behalf of constituents. That some people haven’t approached their MP shouldn’t stop you.” The ministerial code of conduct allows ministers to represent “the views of their constituents”, provided they make clear they are acting as a local MP rather than in their government capacity. The approach was made as a constituency MP rather than a government minister, but raises questions about infringing the principle that universities are independent of government. In his first keynote speech as minister last May, Willetts said: “I believe that the strength of our universities derives in large part from their autonomy. That autonomy is the envy of other nations.” Sir Steve Smith, vice-chancellor of Exeter university, said he was regularly lobbied by MPs and treated the letter in the same fashion. He said: “I get a lot of letters as a vice-chancellor on behalf of constituents. He asked: ‘Do you realise there was an issue with some people taking the IB?’ He didn’t ask us to do anything, just to be aware of it. Frankly, we didn’t do anything. The candidate wasn’t offered a place, as far as I know.” The other two universities involved have not been identified. The government has been encouraging schools and colleges to take up the IB. Michael Gove, the education secretary, admires its breadth of study. The qualification consists of six academic subjects, an extended essay and an element of community work, music or team sport. The six subjects span English, maths, science, languages, humanities and art, so students are not forced to choose between arts and sciences at 16. Higher education Schools GCSEs David Willetts Jeevan Vasagar guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 24, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.