David Lammy’s revelation about Oxbridge’s “apartheid” raises many pertinent issues, but yet fundamentally misses the point. As a current third-year student at Keble College of ethnic minority and state school background, I would argue that while the statistics presented are shocking, Oxford is not solely to blame.

Statistics are the basis of Lammy’s argument but he often approaches them in the wrong way. “There are more offers made to students from one school – Eton – than students on free school meals across the whole country,” he says. However, the issue is not about how many students from Eton are at Oxford, it’s about how many students from Eton applied to go to Oxford; it’s not about how many students from ethnic minority backgrounds are at Oxford, it’s about how many of these students applied.

In fact, the problem that Lammy highlights can be traced to our education system and the failings of government. That those from low-income backgrounds are not being given the chance to reach top universities is not solely the fault of the universities (although more needs to be done); it is the fault, too, of government, which is not giving students the chance they deserve to attend a university – selection for which should be purely based on merit. After all, during the admissions process, you are told consistently how little anything but academic success matters.

In many ways, the strength of universities such as Oxford and Cambridge is that above everything else, they value academic achievement. Surely, then, this should encourage diversity – because it is fundamentally not the case that all clever students attended private school in the south of England. This is a point Lammy has raised, offering statistics concerning high-achieving students across the many under-represented areas in the country in comparison to Oxbridge offers. However, we are not told how many of these high-achieving students applied.

The problem with access comes well before the admissions process. It starts with the idea that somewhere elitist such as Oxford would never be the place for someone like you – an idea constantly fed to those from state school backgrounds, while private school students are told they are entitled to that coveted university spot.

Comprehensive schools often perpetuate this system by failing to encourage bright students to strive for places at high-achieving universities. The government should be educating teachers in identifying and encouraging students who show potential, offering them advice on admissions and telling them that they can make it to Oxbridge if they work hard.

Oxford colleges, in their own way, are attempting to change this. Keble College’s access and outreach programme, Keble at Large, is a student-run society that gives tours and Q&A sessions to target schools with little or no history of successful Oxbridge applications. The aim is to demystify the Oxford experience and show students that there are other people like them here.

Some of the suggestions Lammy makes for ways in which Oxford could change are inspiring. If Oxford were to write to students with high grades encouraging them to apply, it would surely make a huge difference. Similarly, centralised admissions, rather than college-based admissions, would ensure diversity across the university. These are essential actions, but will only work in addition to systemic changes in how the schooling system works. We need to be building up bright young people across the country, encouraging them to apply to Oxbridge and then equipping them for the admissions process by teaching them how it works, in the same way as private school students are tutored and prepared. When they reach this point, it is the role of Oxford and Cambridge to offer a non-biased opportunity for everyone – but they can only do this if they have enough students applying.

At the heart of all of this is the paradoxical fact that an article such as Lammy’s will only serve to further alienate a proportion of the population who already doubted their ability to be accepted. The negative press surrounding Oxbridge is only going to perpetuate the negative aspects of the place. It’s time we constructed a new narrative based on students who, despite the injustices of the system (this country’s system, not the university’s system), have managed to succeed.

• Ellie Gomes is a student at Keble College, Oxford