§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement on his proposals to increase access to higher education for students unable to succeed at the A-level exams.
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§ Mr. FormanUniversities and colleges are responsible for setting entry standards to ensure that students have the necessary intellectual competence to benefit from higher education. A-levels are traditional indicators of such competence, but they are by no means the only ones.
Institutions are becoming more prepared to consider qualifications other than A-levels and their Scottish equivalent. More than 20 per cent. of those entering full-time first degree courses in 1990 did so on the basis of such qualifications. We welcome such flexibility, and are promoting the development of vocational and other routes into higher education.
We are introducing general national vocational qualifications—GNVQs—which offer a broadly based preparation for work and an alternative ladder to higher education. GNVQs at level 3 will be as demanding as A-levels.
We have encouraged the development of access courses for mature students without traditional entry qualifications for higher education. There are now well over 1000 such courses.