An elitist scandal

YOUR lead story last week reporting the social class distribution of university entrants shows how little things have changed over the past few decades.

In fact things have changed quite a lot. Before I started school we had a small and elitist university system in which, by and large, only the well-heeled and well-connected went to university. We moved through a system which became larger and generally meritocratic.

We are entering a phase in which the system is larger still, but becoming elitist again. Most of the well-heeled and well-connected go to university, but the proportion of working-class students is negligible. What a waste of talent. Where are the people in higher education who are concerned enough about this to take the necessary action? Which of our political parties will face up to this scandal?

P. Burgess President, AUT