New figures show that both Fife and Forth Valley colleges are failing to take in enough students from deprived areas.
The Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee will be shown a report that shows what proportion of the most deprived 10 per cent of students each college takes.
For a fair intake, colleges should take at least 10% of students from the most deprived backgrounds. Many within the education sector want this target to be raised as further education should be equally open to those from poorer backgrounds.
Scotland wide, over 16% of students come from the most deprived background but the figure for Fife College is only 7.9% and 9.9% at Forth Valley.
This information, which has been provided by the Scottish Funding Council, shows the total number of hours those from the most deprived decile of the population spend at college. A percentage is then worked out from the total number of hours all students spend at college.
These figures follow statistics that revealed Scotland lagged behind the rest of the UK in getting less privileged students to university, with only 9% attending compared to 17% in England.
Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“College is a crucial way for young people to get the skills and qualifications they need to build a successful career for themselves.
“These figures show that not enough students from the poorest backgrounds – the ones who need our help the most – are getting to college. It is particularly worrying that numbers in Fife and Forth Valley are lagging so far behind the rest of Scotland.
“I’m concerned that the SNP aren’t doing enough to close the attainment gap or to increase the number of places for those in the Fife and Forth Valley area from poorer backgrounds.
"The staff at both Fife and Forth Valley colleges work extremely hard to ensure that students receive a top class education. However, they are being let down by the SNP who are slashing college places across the board which is clearly impacting learning opportunities for deprived students."