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EDITOR'S NOTE: No matter what part of the country we live in, the question of accessibility to post- secondary education and the effect student's ec— onomic backgrounds have 'on their ability to at— tend a post—secondary in- stitution confronts us.

can only the [rich attend?

So the report discussed in this articel -L from the Universities Council of British Columbia, the body which handles government

finances for BC universities:

-— has relevance outside the province.

By Heather Walker

VANCOUVER (CUP) —— If you're from a working class, family in Sppuzzum, 3.0., you probably won't be reading this. _

That's because your chance of attending UBC or any other BC university} is lower than if, for example you come from a professional high—income familygin the Lower Mainland.

This is one of the conclusions of a Univer— sities Council report on

accessibility to post— secondary education in

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lili “Thé report was .commissioned by the council two years ago and present— ed to council chairman William Armstrong Jan.4. According to the report, of the 26 per cent of Grade 12 students going immediately

to university or college after

graduation 50 per cent were the children of profession- als, while only 15 per

cent were the children of _ miners, loggers, fisherman, and farmers.

, And 33 per cent of stu— dents completing grade 11 in North and West Vancouver went on to university or college, while only 13

per cent of those in the Prince Rupert to Dawson Creek area went on to College or University.

And, says the report, the differences are even great— er if dropout rates are taken into consideration.

According to the re—

port, students are dis—

couraged from entering post—secondary instit- tuions because of their personal finances -— lack‘ of money was the main rea— son given by students who had decided not to go on, to college or university - difficulty in finding in— formation on the instit— tuitions, distance of.

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.not, in any real sense,

preport, UBC history pro—

distribution of sexes, ‘ races, ethnic groups, students from urban and: - i rural backgrounds and socio-economic classes,

as we find in the general population." ‘

And, he says, if admis— sion to post-secgndary institutions was baSed on merit -- that is, aca-

institutions from their

homes, and a feeling of

not belonging in the in- stitution. '

"One of the major bar- riers to accessibility,

perhaps the most awe- sime barrier, is the sense of the part of the prospective student (usually a member Of an- identifiable group with. demic standing -- there low participation rates) ,would be a high proportion that the public institution, of students who have done the school, has been well on IQ and aptitude established by and for tests. . '_ somebody else and does ' Instead, Straker says, "The proportion of white, middle and upper class, urban makes" is much highe in post—secondary schools 'than in the general pop— ulation.

And according t0‘a 1971 Ontario study, 71 per cent of students with low aptitude test scores from

.high income families grad— uated from grade 13 but only 68 per cent of "high ability" students from low income families grad- uate from grade 13.

Dumb Rich Enrol

'belong',to him, his family, or community," the report says.

"This sense of being in an 'alien' institution also makes it difficult for such students to stay in school even when they do take the courageous step of entering,

Low-Income Students Left Out.

"The privilege that the children of the well- to—do have, and the "have nots" do not, is the ability to use their talents and powers within social in— stituions which 'they' (their relatives, neighe bours, friends and come munities) have created and maintain. Such places, shcools and places of

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ontario Liberal MP Timothy Reid described the situation bluntly: "Whereas one-third of the brightest children of the poor in Canada do not sur-

work actually belong to- vive to the final years of them. They feel 'at home' high school, one—third and comfortable uSing then. of the stupidest children "Time and time again as of the rich clutter up we listened to people in our universities." communities around the "Straker says it is province, we discovered generally believed that that major barriers to schools are "agents of access were grounded on equal opportunity in the fact and perception society... and provide that the institutions to grounds for people to which people wanted ac— compete fairly for jobs." cess were established and "In this sense schoold run by somebody else, are expected to be the somewhere else, in the agents of upward social interests of others."' mobility and a social level Recommendations range ler, shrinking the dis- from accepting the'prin— tinctions between rich and ciple that accessibility poor. But the prestigious to post-secondary education and highly paid positions is a right, to proposed in our society are oc— changes in the student aid cupied by'a disproportion— plan and a plan to extend ate number of white, af- financial aid to secondary fluent, urban males. school students.' "Their sons haVe a And the report condemns better chance at these schools fro failing to places than their daughters remedy inequalities be— or the children of working tween classes and perpet— class families," Straker uating existing social con- says. ditions. 7 I And, he says, the con‘ In an appendix to the tinuation of.this "dis- proportion shows that fessor Stephen Straker schools are not changing says if there really was society, but merely equality of access to post— perpetuating the present. secondary institutions, social structure. there would be "the same The council's final