Leader: Mergers make sense

SCOTTISH university principals are right to regard the “shotgun marriage” of Dundee and Abertay universities as the thin end of the wedge. Mike Russell, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, clearly believes the country has too many universities and wants to see a number of mergers, not just on the banks of the Tay. He is right. Particularly in Scotland’s four main cities, the multiplicity of higher education institutions makes little sense. They are often accidents of history rather than the result of any considered scheme to offer students the best possible education. At a time when every penny is a prisoner – and while the SNP is paying for its manifesto promises by hitting businesses, on whom the economic recovery depends – there are obvious savings to be made in eliminating duplication of administrative functions and aggregating some courses. If this can be done while retaining distinctive features such as Abertay’s excellent record in computer games and environmental science, it makes good sense. It also echoes reforms elsewhere in the police and fire services.

This is a process that requires care and subtlety if academic standards are to be preserved and the widest possible access to higher education maintained. The key will be ensuring there is no trade-off between these two important criteria. But university chiefs cannot hope to resist these reforms – a sentimental attachment to the old university scarf (and principals’ perks) will not be sufficient defence.