Oxford set to raise funds for poor students

The university will urge philanthropists, former students and major business houses in the United Kingdom to contribute generously to the campaign, which is described as the "most important" in its 900-year history.

The fund will eventually allow outstanding sixth-formers from working-class backgrounds to get a place irrespective of their ability to pay tuition fees, according to a report in 'The Daily Telegraph'.

Oxford is attempting to match endowments reaped by Ivy League universities in the United States. In fact, Harvard University alone has endowments twice that of all British universities combined to ensure that no poor student is turned away because of his inability to pay tuition fees.

A report published two years ago by the Sutton Trust, a charity supporting students from poor families, said that a similar scheme was needed to help realise the potential of working-class students in Britain.

However, the latest proposal follows recommendations from a government task force on how to increase donations to higher education. It was led by Prof Eric Thomas of Bristol University, who said it was wrong to assume that there was no "giving culture" in Britain.

"There wasn't even a culture of asking. You can't test if there is a culture of giving when you are not asking people," Prof Thomas was quoted by the British newspaper as saying.