Top universities have called on the Government for additional funds to take on more students and for the cap on the number of pupils studying medicine to be lifted amid fears ministers face a £140million bailout for lower-tier institutions.
Thousands of students are scrambling to get places at their first choice university after ministers screeching u-turn on A-Level results means they now have improved grades.
But top schools are struggling with the sheer volume of demand as the 55,000 who accepted a place at another university or bagged a new course at clearing are now abandon those decisions to try and get into their top choice.
A number of universities, such as Cambridge, have already said that some students will have to defer until next year.
The government previously urged universities to honour the offers they made to pupils, but Vice-Chancellors were last night in talks with ministers to secure additional funding to take on thousands of additional students.
Meanwhile there are fears that students leaving lower-ranked institutions to go to their first choice could leave them vulnerable financially, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak said to be preparing a £140million bailout.
It comes as the government has been urged to take on more students at medical school, where places are highly-competitive and much of the cost of training doctors is met by the taxpayer.
Students from Codsall Community High School protest outside the constituency office of their local MP, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson
Institutions are currently in a bind because the number of places at medical schools are capped by the government because of cost – the amount to train doctors exceeds the amount paid by undergraduates in fees – and restrictions on NHS work placements.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock this morning told Sky News he acknowledged calls to increase student places and promised that the Government is working on the issue.
A number of students who were planning to study medicine had their grades lowered by the standardised algorithm.
But the screeching u-turn by under-pressure Education Secretary Gavin Williamson means students now have significantly improved grades and can try and get into the school of their choice.
Universities UK has written a letter to Mr Williamson to seek ‘urgent assurances’ that he is talking to the Department of Health about increasing the number of medical school places from the current number of 7,500, as reported by the BBC.
The letter also said: ‘The role of universities in training the medical workforce is essential for all regions and nations of the UK, as clearly shown by our members’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic.’
Prof Richard Harvey, the academic director of admissions at the University of East Anglia, told The Guardian it had 185 medical places. And are now oversubscribed by around 50 students.
Universities UK has written a letter to Mr Williamson (pictured) to seek ‘urgent assurances’ that he is talking to the Department of Health about increasing the number of medical school places from the current number of 7,500, as reported by the BBC
He said: ‘I have 1,500 emails in my inbox from angry people – mostly medics – all trying to work out what the hell they do now.’
‘It’s perfectly possible for ministers to convert an apology into something that’s meaningful, but that means opening the cheque book and fixing the problem. Especially as we were all clapping carers not so long ago. Weren’t we all meant to be supporting the NHS?’
The chair of the Royal College of GPs has also urged the Government to dramatically increase the number of undergraduate medical places to ensure doctors ‘represent the communities they serve’.
Dr Martin Marshall called on universities minister Michelle Donelan to urgently provide clarity on the ethnicity and socio-economic background of prospective medical students hit by the A-level fiasco.
In an open letter, he said reports poorer communities were more likely to have been adversely affected by the system that saw this year’s grades awarded by algorithm were ‘deeply worrying’.
Dr Marshall also warned despite Monday’s U-turn, many will have lost their places on medical courses after universities started handing out spots based on students’ original results.
‘It is deeply worrying to hear that areas which are under-doctored and under-served by medical schools could also be more likely to have students whose results were downgraded and who may not now be able to secure a place to study medicine,’ he said.
He added: ‘At the RCGP we are committed to ensuring that the medical profession is inclusive and representative; this includes the doctors of the future representing the communities they serve.’
Prof Marshall finished: ‘I’m sure that you will agree it will be essential for the future of the NHS that we have sufficient doctors to see our ever expanding and complex population of patients.’
The RCGP estimates the UK needs 20% more undergraduate medical places to serve the growing population, and wants caps on student numbers lifted as well as extra funding for universities to help meet demand.
It wants all students that meet the criteria to study medicine to be able to do so.