STUDENTS from the most deprived areas in Scotland remain under-represented in its top universities, according to new figures released yesterday.

Just 8 per cent of Scottish-based entrants at the universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews come from the most deprived areas in 2015-2016, research from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) revealed.

The SFC found that colleges recruited more working-class students, with the number of entrants from poorer backgrounds making up 23 per cent.

However, under the SNP administration, college places have been slashed by 152,000, and teaching staff and resources have been cut, hobbling the ambitions of working-class students.

Labour MSP Neil Findlay slammed the SNP’s “abysmal” record in the further education sector, saying that young working-class Scots “have been failed by this SNP government.”

The former shadow learning minister said the Scottish government had “presided over cuts to college budgets, to student numbers, staffing, teaching hours and student support” which had led to a “widening attainment gap replicated in access to university.”

NUS Scotland president Vonnie Sandlan said the figures were “hugely disappointing” and “reinforce just how far we are from meeting the ambitions set by the Commission on Widening Access.”

Ms Sandlan added: “What this clearly illustrates is that work to secure a truly fair education system is not being shared by every institution — we continue to see the bulk of our widening access work being done by the same institutions, year on year.”

The Scottish government’s Commission on Widening Access aims for students from the 20 per cent most deprived backgrounds to represent 20 per cent of entrants to higher education by 2030.