Class gap target for universities is ditched

The minister responsible for higher education was forced into an embarrassing U-turn yesterday over a target to get more working-class students into university.

Margaret Hodge has been forced to retract a specific pledge on closing the class gap in universities under pressure from Charles Clarke, the Education Secretary. Mrs Hodge said last week on a visit to China that she was going to set a target to close the gap between the number of students from upper-middle class families and working-class families going to university by 2010. "I am going to do a target on closing the gap." she said. "I'm actually going to set a target – where we want to get to by 2010."

But yesterday in a statement issued by the Department for Education Mrs Hodge said that, although the government was still committed to widening access to education, "an overall target would be inappropriate and we have no plans to introduce one".

Mr Clarke and education officials believe the department already has enough targets, some of which they are struggling to meet.

University entrance policies have been subject to intense media scrutiny in recent weeks after it emerged that star pupils from fee-paying schools have been refused places at Bristol University.

The department is keen to avoid another controversy over access to higher education. But the willingness to publicly embarrass a minister to avoid another row may be seized by opposition MPs as an example of "bully boy" tactics.