SNP faces fresh questions over free tuition as gap hits £263m

Published on Tuesday 12 July 2011 15:57

The SNP government has come under renewed pressure to publish details of its plans to keep university education free after new figures revealed a looming £263 million financial timebomb.

The Office for Fair Access (Offa) said yesterday that average tuition fee levels in England will be about 8,161 a year.

That would leave a funding gap of 263m by 2014-15 between English universities and their Scottish rivals, as institutions south of the Border enjoy increased levels of income.

The Scottish Government had estimated that 93m would be needed to make up the funding gap and is committed to making sure that universities in Scotland "remain competitive".

Universities Scotland previously made a "conservative" estimate that the funding gap would be at least 202m, but this was based on an average fee in England of about 7,500.

Labour's education spokesman Ken Macintosh said: "Now we know the actual fee levels from the English universities, the Scottish Government need to publish the detail of their own calculations.

"How much are they expecting to generate from the SNP's own 9,000 fees? Will they impose similar widening access arrangements or are they only interested in wealthy students from elsewhere, and where on earth are their plans for EU students?

"The SNP's commitment to free higher education begs more questions by the day."

Professor Petra Wend, principal of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, said the current system must be overhauled.

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"It is simply not feasible to maintain the status quo," she said.

"Today's announcement from Offa increases our understanding of the size of the funding gap.

"Queen Margaret University will continue to support the important work of Universities Scotland in its partnership with the Scottish Government in developing proposals which not only plug the funding gap, but work for the entire range of Scottish universities."

The SNP government is committed to providing free higher education to students based in Scotland, a pledge supported by Labour and the Liberal Democrats at the recent election.

It came despite warnings from the principals that a funding gap would emerge between Scotland and England unless action was taken.

Professor Ian Diamond, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Aberdeen said: "The Offa figures give some indication of the funding which will be available to English universities from 2102, but there are still many unknowns.

"We welcome the commitment the Cabinet Secretary has given to ensuring that Scottish universities are not disadvantaged through a funding gap."

The Nationalist administration at Holyrood announced it would allow universities to charge non-Scottish UK students up to 9,000 in fees, in line with the levels south of the Border.

The Scottish Government had estimated a funding gap of 155m, falling to 93m, after fees from non-Scottish UK students are taken into account.

The Tories say some form of graduate contribution should be introduced, but say this need not be paid back until students reach a set wage level after graduating.

Tory education spokeswoman Liz Smith said the latest figures were a "humiliation" for the SNP government.

"They have continually underestimated the real funding gap our universities face," she said.

"It has been obvious for some time that the funding gap would be far in excess of what the SNP government was prepared to admit.

"The SNP has made a very firm commitment to a free university education for Scots, but they are not coming up with the money to fill it."

More than 80 per cent of people think the policy of charging English, Welsh and Northern Irish students - while Scots go free - is unfair, according to the Tories, who also warn that the number of students from the rest of the UK could decline.

"Mike Russell needs to apologise for his bogus arithmetic and come clean on what his SNP government is prepared to do to make up this huge shortfall," Ms Smith added.

"Scottish Conservatives have been upfront about the challenges we face. Now the SNP government must stop living in fantasyland and do likewise."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "The SNP have refused to accept the extent of the financial black hole in Scottish university funding. This is endangering the world- class status of our universities.

"For the SNP to dodge and delay on the world-class status of our universities is irresponsible.

"Our plans to reform the sector will bring new investment and greater value for money. We are prepared to share our ideas with them if it secures the top quality of higher education in Scotland for our students."

NUS Scotland president Robin Parker said the fees system in England was a "huge betrayal" of students across the UK.

He added: "We need to let the system settle in England before we can know what the implications are in Scotland. The SNP have said on many occasions that they will plug any funding gap for Scottish institutions.

We welcomed that commitment then and we welcome it now.

"In the meantime we must concentrate on what we do know. We don't want to see underfunded universities in Scotland, but funding institutions is only part of it.

"We must see investment in student support and fair access too. While the English system is in flux, comparisons on funding will be difficult, but the SNP made a commitment on meeting the funding gap, and on increasing student support, and so we fully expect to see action on both."A Scottish Government spokesman said ministers have ensured that students will not pay tuition fees.

He added: "We've protected places for Scottish students, and we've enabled our universities to remain competitive by introducing fees for students from the rest of the UK in response to the market created in England and Wales.

"The UK government has taken a very different route from Scotland.

"We know that the UK government plan to cut their overall investment in higher education in England by 2.9 billion over their spending review period to 2014-15.

"But beyond that, there is much uncertainty, as demonstrated by today's figures about fees. What is less clear still is what the effect will be on student demand in England, a fact recognised by the sector both here and in England."