Ministers fund medical students with low grades

Ministers were accused last night of attempting social engineering by paying for medical students to attend the most prestigious universities even though their A-level results are not good enough to win a place.

Ministers were accused last night of attempting social engineering by paying for medical students to attend the most prestigious universities even though their A-level results are not good enough to win a place.

Eighty students who do not achieve the minimum requirement of three grade C passes at A-level to train as doctors will be paid for by the Government, Alan Johnson, the Higher Education minister, has disclosed.

The subsidies will be paid under a scheme designed to deter students from dropping out of courses at 20 universities, including Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College and University College, both in London.

Chris Grayling, the Tories' higher education spokesman, said: "It is quite absurd the Government is paying universities to admit students without the level of exam passes they would normally need to study medicine. We should not be compromising our normal standards ... just to help meet the Government's political targets."