Students with A-level grades as low as three Es are being enrolled at universities to hit Government diversity targets, data reveals.
Figures from admissions body UCAS show many top universities, including the University of East Anglia, Oxford Brookes and Kent University, are accepting severely underperforming students in a bid to fulfil equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) targets.
The practice has become widespread across the sector after the Government-sponsored Office for Students (OfS) regulator urged universities to be more ‘ambitious’ in ‘reducing inequality’.
It warned them that if they don’t narrow the so-called ‘access gap’ between students by this year, they could face fines.
The data – revealed on the UCAS website, which lists all courses available in Clearing and their entry requirements – comes days before pupils receive their A-level exam results on Thursday.
