Scots students 'must pay'

Published on Sunday 11 June 2006 00:15

THE principal of St Andrews University has warned that the quality of Scottish higher education will decline unless students are forced to pay for courses.

Dr Brian Lang called for a national debate on university funding, describing the current system as "unsustainable" following the introduction of top-up fees south of the Border.

English universities will have millions of pounds in extra funding to recruit top academics, build better facilities and conduct better research from this summer.

Lang said: "This is not about elitism. It is about excellence. We are not saying that tuition fees should be introduced immediately, but there needs to be a debate about where the money is going to come from. We need a richer funding mix, where one element is that the consumer [student] pays."

Chancellor Gordon Brown admitted last week that the 3,000 cap on top-up fees could be removed in 2009, allowing English universities to raise even more money.

Lang added: "We can continue as we are and rely on ministers or we start to look at other funding models."

Professor Mike Pittilo, principal and vice chancellor of The Robert Gordon University, in Aberdeen, said: "If the 3,000 cap is removed then we will fall even further behind. We may be forced down the same road as England."

Professor Duncan Rice, principal of Aberdeen University, added: "We have to look at alternative ways of funding. We need to give serious thought to the whole business of where our money comes from."

Sir Muir Russell, the principal of Glasgow University, said: "Brian Lang has drawn attention to serious issues relating to the funding of Scottish higher education. The Executive must use its next comprehensive spending review to ensure these are successfully addressed."