Universities in the United Kingdom are closing the door to entry due to lack of space in the institutions and thus students who worked hard in their secondary classes will be denied opportunities to pursue the quest for knowledge. An estimated 170,000 students who were eligible to attend a university will not be allowed to enter, and a high percent of them will be A-level young scholars who earned over 90% in their school work. Cutbacks on entry make a mockery of claims by liberal academics of their concern for youth. There is scant doubt a high percent of those not attending the university this fall will be children from poverty who tend to make lower grades and all too often lack the skill to maneuver their way through the maze of academia. Warwick, Edinburgh and Bristol colleges have sent notice that all slots in their universities are filled and they do not expect last minute changes.
I was raised in the Depression when money was much tighter for students, but many colleges found a way to find room. The explosion in admissions created by the G.I. Bill of Rights led colleges to open new classes and hire additional faculty. University faculty are all too often blasting the evils of capitalism. How about if each member of the faculty added two classes per semester to help students? Sorry, I forgot they can only teach “X” number of classes because to teach more would lower their standards. Hogwash, add the classes and let action take the place of rhetoric about concern for the poor.
