Joe Goldblatt: Retaking lead in education

SCOTLAND earned a great reputation for learning over the centuries, and the best way to reinvigorate its cultural life is as an independent nation, writes Joe Goldblatt

Throughout its history Scotland has given many gifts to the world, including through culture and creativity, food and beverage, innovation, and scientific and medical inventions, among many others. However, rising above all of these are its gifts to education throughout the world.

This reputational advantage is often not communicated well to others outwith our country. For example, in the Times Higher Education rankings of universities by reputation throughout the world for 2012, only one Scottish university made the list. However, if Scottish universities were enabled, through an independent Scotland, our world class institutions of higher education would rapidly gain greater prominence through increased financial support generated from both within as well as outwith our land.

During the eighteenth century, Scotland was the most literate society in Europe. Three-quarters of Scots at that time could read and write, compared to less than a quarter across the rest of Europe. Familial and educational encouragement led to the unique form of independent thought now recognized and admired throughout the world as the period of Scottish Enlightenment.

The global economic crash of 2008 has been felt in every sector, and universities are no different. However, to the credit of the Scottish government, higher education continues today to be highly valued in Scotland, as evidenced by the continuation of the free fees policy for Scottish students. I believe that to safeguard free higher education and investment in our university sector Scotland must have control over its own resources by becoming an independent nation.

There are four clear reasons why Scottish independence must be achieved in order to significantly and sustainably benefit higher education. These benefits include first, to further develop the sustainable opportunity to recruit the best students from throughout the world to attend Scottish universities. Secondly, to ensure that foreign graduates of Scottish universities have the opportunity to contribute to Scottish research and enterprise in the future. Thirdly, to utilize Scotland’s resources to support Scottish values – ensuring that access to education remains based on ability to learn and not ability to pay and that Scottish institutions remain among the best in the world. Fourthly, to further advance our research productivity and benefit from the commercialization aspects of this research.

The ability in globalised society to recruit and retain the best talent for Scottish universities must be reinstated and expanded if educational heterogeneity is to be encouraged. During a recent visit to China, I was approached by dozens of Chinese parents who reminded me that because of China’s one child policy, every child has up to six sources of income (two parents and four grandparents) to fund their future university costs. One Chinese mother told me “We will spend whatever is necessary for our sons and daughters to have the best education in the world.” That education can be found in Scotland and we must take advantage of China’s great leap forward to offer our educational assets to these students as well as those from other BRIC economies.

Only by reviewing and revising our student visa policies, which will be achievable through an independent Scotland, will leaders in higher education be able to develop the best student populations to drive forward research and enterprise. Not only must we work harder to attract the best and brightest scholars to study in Scotland, but we must also provide the access and support for these graduates to remain in Scotland for a specified period of time to further develop the fruit of their labours that potentially benefit all citizens.

Sustainable funding of higher education in Scotland, free of the influence of Westminster, must be a priority. Numerous studies throughout the world have indicated that geographic or even population size does not matter in terms of the development of strong enterprises within nation states. Rather, among the key factors that promote stronger GDP and social capital include a robust and strong system of higher education. Scotland must continue to lead the world through higher education by becoming free and independent champions of education and research to promote independent thought. This independence will serve to create a second Scottish enlightenment both within our future nation state as well as through collaboration, throughout the entire world.

Historically, great Scottish inventors have developed their ideas in Scotland only to have their work benefit others in a commercial manner. One of the reasons for this is the current system known as the Russell Group that compares Scottish research outputs to others throughout the United Kingdom. An independent Scotland could in fact develop its own research ranking system that would lead to increased funding for Scottish universities and colleges and rapidly advance the development and commercialization of Scottish research throughout the world.

Scotland has punched well above its weight under the previous system, now, it is time for our future nation state to set the sky as the ultimate limit for developing and benefiting from our increased research capacity.

Once Scottish universities are able to see increased benefits through additional funding directly aimed at the work developed by scholars and inventors in our country, confidence will also raise to unparalleled heights. Therefore, it is time to finally enable the great current and future Scottish thought leaders to unleash their creativity and intellectual abilities to benefit the world at large through the creation of our own research ranking group in Scotia.

A fully independent Scotland would have the historic opportunity of creating a second enlightenment for education through the sustainable economic development of our higher education sector and attract top scholars from throughout the world, many of whom, will remain in Scotland and start new enterprises to employ Scottish people in the near future.

The Silicon Valley that was established through the work of information technology scholars from Stanford University may one day be challenged by Scotland’s own future Tartan Valley. Through these renewed opportunities in higher education, once again, the world may be changed by Scots in significant ways.

If David Hume, James Hutton, Robert Burns other leaders of the famed Scottish enlightenment were alive today they might ask us why has it taken so long to realize this dream, our destiny? After all, they created the original pathways and intellectual framework that fostered this kind of aspirational thought. To match that aspiration and to fully realize their dreams, as well as our own, Scotland must take its own special place among the independent nations of the world.

• Professor Joe Goldblatt, FRSA, is executive director of the International Centre for the Study of Planned Events, Queen Margaret University. He is writing in a personal capacity.