Change of view

Published on 10/09/2012 00:12

It WAS only last year that education secretary Michael Russell reportedly said that the current situation whereby Scottish taxpayers paid for the education of European Union students attending Scottish universities was untenable.

He added that “while Scottish universities have always been cosmopolitan institutions, we cannot allow them to become a cheap option for students who have to pay to go to university in their home countries”.

Should Scotland become independent, he apparently now thinks that for Scotland to shoulder the burden of the cost of educating students from the rest of the UK attending Scottish universities as well, would be a “price worth paying” (your report, 
8 September) and that “the current system would cope well”.

It would be interesting to know why Mr Russell has dramatically changed his views in the past year and where the money would come from to reduce this massive additional drain upon Scotland’s education budget.

Bob MacDougall

Oxhill

Kippen, Stirlingshire