'Disaster' fears over university places

Labour has been accused of leaving up to 60,000 A-level students struggling to find university places.

UCAS announced on Thursday that around 371,016 students had received a place at university so far.

This figure represents around 60 per cent of all students that applied.

The university admissions body admitted that 135,114 students were eligible for clearing this year.

But it was also revealed that there are only 22,000 places available at universities through the clearing process.

Higher education minister David Lammy denied reports that between 50,000 to 60,000 A-level pupils would miss out on a university place.

He told the BBC that neither the government nor UCAS recognised the figures quoted.

"You simply can't deduce that kind of number at this stage," he said.

But head of the lecturers' union UCU Sally Hunt said: "The government's widening participation agenda was one that should have been celebrated and allowed to flourish.

"Sadly, the government's failure to stand up for education and to properly fund the policy has led to its apparent demise.

"The decision to cap the numbers of student places at university this year, and most likely permanently cap the ambition of thousands of potential students, marks the nadir of a policy which has become, in essence, the rationing of hope."

The government had tried to expand the number of university places available by 10,000, introducing emergency places on maths and science courses.

But top universities declined the offer as the courses would only be partially funded by government.

Shadow universities secretary David Willetts said: "Tens of thousands who expected to go to university this year will be disappointed, and ministers are to blame. This is a recipe for disaster."

But Lammy sought to diffuse the row over university places.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There will be a number of students holding two offers, some of them insurance offers, and as that system beds in over the next few days, the clearing process begins and becomes available.

"I've just spoken to the chief executive of UCAS. I can't say how many students will not have been accepted into university at the end of the system and that's because this is a moving feast over the course of the next few weeks with applicants accepting courses, deferring courses, deciding they want to go somewhere else. But it is right to say it's a competitive year."

He added: "Last year there were 3,000 young people who got straight As that didn't go to university and that's because for example they had a particular course at a particular institution in mind and they didn't get an offer at that institution.

"So they re-apply, they do extra things in their gap year, build up their CV.

"For a whole range of reasons you can have outstanding candidates that don't go in their first attempt but re-apply the following year."