Scrapping of graduate endowment hits setback

Published on Thursday 13 December 2007 01:18

A BILL to scrap the fee paid by students once they graduate, a flagship policy of the Scottish Government, has been thrown into uncertainty after MSPs yesterday voted to reject it.

Members of Holyrood's education committee recommended the principles of the legislation to abolish graduate endowment should not be agreed when the proposal comes before the entire parliament next week.

The eight-strong committee was split evenly, with Labour and Conservative members voting against the proposal and Nationalists and Liberal Democrats backing the bill. It was rejected on the convener's casting vote.

The bill aims to end the 2,289 charge, introduced in 2001 and paid by Scots who graduate in this country.

The committee's decision indicates that next week's vote is likely to go right to the wire. Labour MSPs are now expected to vote to reject the bill next Thursday. And the Tories have said they will not support it.

The Scotsman understands the Lib Dems will back the SNP. And if independent MSP Margo MacDonald and the Green party supported the legislation, the outcome would depend on the decisions of just two MSPs.

The move to scrap the fee is part of the Scottish Government's bid, and a key manifesto promise, to move from a system of student loans to grants.

The SNP has argued very little income is generated from the endowment as most of those eligible to pay add it on to their student loan and effectively delay payment for several years.

The stage-one debate of the Graduate Endowment Abolition Bill will take place next Thursday followed by a vote by MSPs.

However, in yesterday's committee vote, which was held in private, convener Karen Whitefield used her casting vote against ditching the fee. The Labour MSP said the estimated 17 million it would cost to scrap the charge could be invested in higher education.

"The committee believes that the funding required to be foregone so that the graduate endowment can be abolished would be better invested in other methods.

"This would help to retain a competitive edge in the delivery of high-quality higher education and to widen access including, for example, more funding directly for universities and in the current system of bursaries.

"The committee remains unconvinced that the removal of the graduate endowment goes far enough in removing barriers to access to higher education."

Last night Fiona Hyslop, the education secretary, said she remained committed to scrapping the fee and was "disappointed" by the committee's decision.

Murdo Fraser, the Tory education spokesman, said: "No evidence has been produced to prove that abolishing the endowment will have a beneficial impact on widening access to higher education. In this respect, the SNP has totally failed to make any sort of coherent case."

Robin Harper, co-convener of the Greens, said his party favoured a return to grants.

He said: "Greens have opposed tuition fees from the start, no matter how they've been rebranded. They meant students from low-income backgrounds are deterred from taking part in higher education. We'll be delighted if our votes help secure the abolition of fees."