Anger as £78m Aimhigher support scheme for students is axed

Critics have condemned the closure of a higher education outreach programme amid evidence that poorer students are likely to be put off by the trebling of tuition fees next year.

Professor Les Ebdon, vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, said the coalition government's closure in July of Aimhigher, a body that spent £78m last year on visiting schools in the poorest areas to promote higher education, was "poor timing".

Universities now have complete responsibility for outreach to families in which no member has previously continued their education beyond school. But the additional money universities need to fund such work will not be available until 2012-2013, when students start paying up to £9,000 in fees.

It is the latest row over higher education in a week in which record numbers of successful A-level candidates applied for university places in a scramble to avoid higher tuition fees.

The website of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) crashed on Friday amid a surge of interest for places.

Speaking to the Observer, Ebdon, who is also the chairman of the higher education thinktank Million+, said there appeared to be a lack of joined-up thinking within government, "particularly at a time when the new fee structure is likely to dissuade a lot of youngsters from aiming to go to university".

"We have drawn ministers' attention to this. What is happening is that they have abolished Aimhigher in the year before the additional money from access arrangements becomes available to universities. It is crucially important in this year to speak to students and to explain the situation to them around tuition fees, to provide that vital guidance. And it is not just those soon to go to university: Aimhigher worked with younger schoolchildren too, which is very important.

"In these tough times, when budgets have been cut, universities will have a choice of whether to dig deep and continue to spend on outreach or wait until next year to rehire people when they have the money."

The social class gap at university has widened since the mid-1990s, with students from the richest 20% of families seven times more likely to go to elite universities than the most disadvantaged 40%. It is feared that next year students from less affluent backgrounds will be put off by potentially huge debts, despite the generous payback scheme for student loans. Studies show students starting in 2012 will face an average of £56,000 of debt on graduation.

An analysis of universities' spending plans from the Commons library shows that there will be a 60% cut in spending on outreach over the next 12 months compared with last year.

Then, Sir Martin Harris, director of the Office for Fair Access, the government body monitoring universities' efforts to widen participation, said there was "mounting evidence" that "targeted outreach which boosts achievement and aspirations among disadvantaged young people at a much earlier stage" was the most effective way to encourage the poorest students into higher education.

Bursaries and fee waivers only helped students choose between universities rather than providing them with the initial motivation to apply.

Gareth Thomas, Labour's shadow universities minister, said: "This is yet another example of the government saying one thing but not being willing to commit the resources, effort and money to make things really happen. Such a significant drop in outreach funding could mean too many potential students from less privileged backgrounds, who have the ability, don't get encouraged to go to university."

As many as 2,500 schools, 300 colleges and 100 universities had been involved in the Aimhigher scheme before universities minister David Willetts announced he was closing it last November.

Meanwhile, vice-chancellors have called for radical changes to university admissions after tens of thousands of school-leavers were left in limbo when parts of the Ucas website crashed under the weight of traffic.

A record 682,514 people applied for university places this year. About 135,000 people, 86,000 more than usual, are expected to enter the clearing scheme for students without a university place. They are competing for 46,000 places.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business said: "This government has been very clear about the importance of widening participation and improving access in higher education, this is why we are pushing all universities to go further and faster than ever before. Our higher education white paper outlined our new approach. Universities have responded by committing to investment in activities to widen access through summer schools, scholarships and fee waivers, estimated to reach more than £600m annually by 2015."