Higher Education numbers in Bradford ' a disgrace'

3.13.35pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 26th Jan 2005

Tables released today show that only 17% of young people living in Bradford North are in higher education.

Councillor David Ward, himself a lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University and Director of Education for Bradford City Football Club said

" The is a disgrace and an absolute indictment of Labour policy and of our MP in particular that Bradford is near the bottom of the staying on league.

The Higher Education Funding Council's report says that the percentage of poorer students going to university has hardly changed since 1994.

After fourteen years as an MP, Terry Rooney has apparently done nothing to improve the situation and has in fact supported the imposition of tuition fees which I am quite sure will make things worse, not better.

I want to seen an end to up front tuition fees and much better support for young people from homes which do not have a tradition of going into higher education."