Student leaders attack fees plan

Published on Tuesday 9 November 2004 13:16

Key points

• Bill to increase medical course fees

• Move to stop doctor shortage

• Critics against variable charges

Key quote

"We are concerned that proposals in the Bill could be interpreted as giving power to introduce variable fees. We remain implacably opposed to variable fees in Scotland" - Association of University Teachers

Story in full STUDENT leaders today condemned a new law which will allow ministers to set higher fees for selected university courses.

They claimed the move amounted to the introduction of English-style top-up tuition fees by the back door.

And they warned there was no knowing where such fee increases would stop.

The Scottish Executive has already announced plans to increase fees for English students at Scottish universities in a bid to prevent an influx when top-up fees come into effect south of the Border.

But it wants to go further and impose even higher fees for medical courses because so many English students come here to study medicine then return south, leaving a shortage of doctors in Scotland.

And it has inserted a clause giving ministers new powers to set fees in an otherwise uncontroversial Bill about merging the two quangos in charge of funding further and higher education.

But the National Union of Students warns there is nothing to stop the new fees being extended to other courses or to Scottish students.

Melanie Ward, president of NUS Scotland, said: "They want to start with medical students, but what if there is a problem next year with lawyers or dentists or any other group you care to name? We see it as the thin end of the wedge. There is nothing to stop them extending it to Scottish students or any course the minister chooses."

Ms Ward said introducing higher fees for certain courses was creating a market in education where only the richest students had real choice.

She said: "The problem the Executive has is it can’t get enough people to stay as doctors in Scotland. We think they should address that issue rather than trying to put off English students from coming here."

She said NUS Scotland had suggested a number of alternatives on how to deal with the problem of retaining doctors here. "There could be financial incentives. A lot of companies nowadays offer graduates ‘golden hellos’ - that would be one idea. But the underlying issue is about recruitment and retention in the NHS. Putting up fees to deter certain students is not the answer to that."

Ms Ward was due to give evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s enterprise committee this afternoon.

And in a separate written submission, the Association of University Teachers echoed the NUS concerns.

It said: "We share the concerns of the Executive that English students coming to Scotland for purely financial reasons may result in loss of places for Scottish students.

"However, we are concerned that proposals in the Bill could be interpreted as giving power to introduce variable fees. We remain implacably opposed to variable fees in Scotland."

The Scottish Executive said in September last year there were 245 vacant consultant posts in Scotland and 128 of them had been unfilled for more than six months.

In 2001-2, just 56 per cent of the 797 medical graduates from Scotland’s universities were Scots and 27 per cent came from England.

And statistics showed non-Scots were more than twice as likely to be practising outside Scotland 11 years after graduation.

An Executive spokeswoman said: "Both the Deputy First Minister and the First Minister have made it clear top-up fees are not on the agenda in Scotland. It is not our intention to introduce a range of fees for different subjects in future. This is about protecting the interests of Scottish domiciled students."