Milburn proposals on university access could fuel 'social engineering' row

Report

by former Labour Minister to deepen the potential for conflict between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats on the appointment of the Chairman of Offa

growing anger among conservatives about how universities can play a role in promoting social mobility is likely to be revived some proposals by Alan Milburn. Former Minister of Labour is now the independent reviewer of social mobility and child poverty for the coalition government.

Milburn is due to the publication of three reports in the coming months, with a focus on the role of higher education and, specifically, to the extent that the admission policies should take greater account background of applicants.

Milburn has been a strong advocate of universities looking not only at the applicant's past performance in terms of raw test scores, but also the context in which the student achieved this, including the average grade in school.

In what threatens to become a serious ideological conflict between conservative and liberal Democrats on how best to promote social mobility, the Conservative Party is up in the arms of the appointment of Professor Les Ebdon in As President of the Office of Fair Access (Offa) with the Conservatives say is likely to use their role in supporting social engineering may jeopardize the commitment of elite universities of excellence.

This concern is shared by Michael Gove, the education secretary, who believes that it is the poor quality of education in many schools in the city with the poorest children back .

Business Secretary, Vince Cable, is due to confirm the appointment of Ebdon next week, rejecting the opinion of the selection committee business. David Cameron has decided he can not ignore the cable.

a Conservative member of the selection committee, Brian Binley, said Ebdon threatened to cause "serious and lasting damage to some of our best universities."

. He said: "He is an advocate for ridiculous levels of Mickey Mouse and threatened nuclear sanctions for universities that do not meet the objectives of admission

• "In short, he is willing to sacrifice academic excellence for the sake of meaningless targets and political correctness. All bones in the body of David Cameron should be screaming against this ridiculous and dangerous things, however, said he is unable to stop Vince Cable to make the appointment.
"It's a sad situation when our Prime Minister, it's like to be helpless, but, unfortunately, seems to be the norm, where the Liberal Democrats are concerned. We can be in a coalition, but that does not mean more to give our partner throws a tantrum. "

As in danger of becoming a test case for Cameron, Binley said: "I think it's about time somebody had a word with David Cameron, and reminded him that it is supposed to be the leader of the Conservative Party. I know I'm not the only concern that the Prime Minister is like a slave to the idea of ??the coalition that compromises its conservative values ??and alienate voters and MPs. "

But the government's strategy of social mobility published last year, under the influence of Nick Clegg, has highlighted the obstacles faced by children without seeking a place to University.

The strategy paper said. "Over the past 15 years, the participation rate of young people in disadvantaged areas in the most selective universities has stagnated at third less than 3% of disadvantaged youth were significantly less likely to enter institutions favored more selective than the young, in some cases up to 15 times less likely.

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