Scotland's universities are world-leading. SNP must not allow them to fall into a crisis of NHS proportions – Scotsman comment

Financial pressures on Scotland’s universities and colleges are growing

For all the doom and gloom about Scotland’s slide down international league tables for school performance, our higher education sector has remained a shining star of which the nation can be proud, attracting people from all over the world to pay thousands in fees that subsidise the education of our own students.

However, a storm is clearly brewing, with talk that some universities could even go bust. As the Scottish Government seeks to make budget cuts, it has confirmed that 1,200 extra places created for Scots students during the pandemic will be scrapped and there are fears that further reductions will be necessary if a £28.5 million hole in university finances is to be filled.

Questioned about the government’s policy of free tuition, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth admitted yesterday that “it does create challenges for our universities” but went on to defend the principle and, predictably, blame Westminster – this time for changes to immigration rules that are discouraging overseas students.

The problem is that the Scottish Government does not provide enough money per Scots student, so universities must look elsewhere for funding. If access to lucrative foreign students is being reduced, the financial pressures will grow.

Gilruth may be right that Westminster’s immigration obsession is harming Scottish education, but she was absolutely wrong when she said “it’s not my responsibility as Cabinet Secretary for Education in Scotland to mop up the mess of a government elsewhere around about its approach to international students and immigration”.

If forces outside the Scottish Government’s control are causing a problem, it is still her responsibility to deal with it. She cannot simply wash her hands of the situation while dogmatically continuing to defend free tuition fees for political reasons and blaming Westminster.

If the Scottish Government cannot afford to pay universities a reasonable amount and if the income from foreign students is being cut, then means-testing of tuition-fee support sounds like the least-worst option, given it would enable universities to charge more for Scottish students and potentially increase their numbers.

Far better to grasp the thistle now, than allow higher education to slide into a full-blown crisis of NHS proportions.