Children of top earners dominate courses

THE children of top-earning medical, legal and health professionals disproportionately continue to dominate entry to university courses in those fields, despite widening of access in other study areas. Figures from the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which oversees access policies in third-level colleges, show that almost one-in-three first-year medical school students in medicine last autumn came from professional family backgrounds, such as doctors, solicitors, barristers, engineers and pharmacists.

When combined with those whose parents were teachers, nurses, lab or IT technicians, senior civil servants and other lower professionals, the figure rises to just under half of all entrants, even though these two socioeconomic groups account for just 15% of the national population and less than a quarter of all university entrants last year.

The patterns are similar for those undertaking law degrees, with almost one-in-four coming from higher professional backgrounds and a further 14% from lower professional families. The proportions are slightly less among pharmacy undergraduates, but one-third of entrants are from either of the two professional categories.

Two in every five people studying to be vets were from professional backgrounds, but almost one-in-six were from farming families, almost double that group's representation in the university population.

Conversely, children of skilled manual and semi-skilled workers are under-represented in medicine courses, with just 8% of all first-year students last autumn compared to a 16% share of all university entrants and 19% of the total population.

The HEA figures show that those from families in these and other lower socioeconomic groups are significantly under-represented on the medicine, law, pharmacy and veterinary medicine courses.

HEA chief executive Tom Boland said it is a remarkable feature of our higher education system that some of the high-profile professions have not become more diverse in their student intake.

"The socioeconomic profile on these courses has changed very little over the past decade, in stark contrast to most other fields of study where participation in higher education by traditionally under-represented groups has significantly improved," he said. "It begs the question why these young people are not making the transition from second level to careers in medicine, law and other professions."

The figures emerged in the wake of debate about the suitability of scores from an aptitude test used for the first time this year, in combination with Leaving Certificate results, to choose medical school entrants. The aim was to reduce pressure on aspiring doctors to get the top grades of at least 560 points, but the Health Professionals Admissions Test (HPAT) has been criticised in some quarters because it may disadvantage female applicants, and has left some with 600 points losing out because others got better aptitude scores.

Mr Boland said one aim of the HPAT was to increase diversity in the student intake, but universities must also ensure their access plans focus on pre-entry strategies to increase admissions to all courses.