Dirk Van Damme, the OECD's resident higher education expert, recently stated that the 'financial support mechanisms that compensate students from less well-off families in higher education have done little to widen access to higher education'. Van Damme points out that, while universities have been transformed from elite to mass educational institutions, system expansion has not resulted in more equal education opportunities. Those at the bottom of the social ladder remain deprived of access to higher education despite attempts by governments to provide them more financial support. But does it follow that national policies on fees and support make little difference to disadvantaged students?
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