Scotland must act now to save its universities from an economic abyss – Edinburgh University Vice-Chancellor

If dire financial problems facing universities are not confronted, the education system as we know it will perish, says Professor Sir Peter Mathieson

There’s a principle I was taught in medical school called Occam’s razor which states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. I am reminded of this now, as universities across the UK are nearing – or toppling into – an economic abyss.

Whilst the finances are admittedly complex and the symptoms many, the diagnosis is as plain as day: our system is broken and requires a radical re-wiring to survive.

There have been plenty of warning signs: my fellow sector leaders and I have been sounding the alarm for years. When you consider the rising costs of wages, food, housing, energy bills over the past eight years, in all that time the funding we receive to teach undergraduate students from Scotland and the rest of the UK remained stagnant.

This left us over-reliant on increases in international student numbers, which has proven an unstable model as geopolitics grow increasingly volatile and the UK’s attractiveness has declined.

University staff hold a rally outside the Scottish Parliament to protest against threatened job cuts and demand a fair budget for higher education (Picture: Lisa Ferguson) | National World

The problem with free tuition

In Scotland, we find ourselves in an even worse situation than our counterparts in England, as our system means that ‘home’ students are funded even less adequately. We receive just over £7,500 a year for each Scottish domiciled student, whilst for students from elsewhere in the country we receive £9,535 (modestly increased recently from £9,250, this rise being obliterated many-fold by the rises in National Insurance which came in the same UK Government Budget).

Other external events have also contributed to the sector’s plight: erosion of research funding, rises in inflation, steeply rising utilities costs, post-Covid supply-chain issues and the war in Europe. As a result, the unsustainable model of funding for our sector has been exposed in all its harsh realities and the sector is now on its knees.

In a recent letter from Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar, I was pleased that the urgent need for reform was recognised. I hold less hope for the “iron-clad” promise of so-called free – ie taxpayer-funded – tuition for all in Scotland, but I am keen for us in the sector to work together with politicians across all parties to develop a solution that is both sustainable and fair.

Need for £140 million of savings

My approach has been to be as open as possible about the seriousness of our situation at Edinburgh, and we have recently confirmed the difficult news that we need to make £140 million of savings to continue our ability in the longer-term to deliver world-changing research and high-quality education.

As some context, it costs more than £120m a month to run the University of Edinburgh. In making interventions now and working together to secure funding models that are fit for the future, we will lay the new foundations required for our country’s great educational establishments.

Running an institution such as Edinburgh responsibly demands that decisions and actions are scrutinised. However, if we do not pull in the same direction and respond to the dire issues now, the education system as we know it will perish and future generations will suffer as a result.

Scotland is rightly proud of its educational heritage: urgent and radical actions are needed now to ensure its future ability to say the same.

Professor Sir Peter Mathieson is Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh