Russell: There’s no way to change tuition fees – yet

EDUCATION secretary Mike Russell has spoken of the possibility of finding a “Scottish solution” to university funding while criticising the “mistaken” policy in England.

Addressing an education conference in Edinburgh yesterday, Mr Russell said the current system was far from ideal, but that there was currently no alternative.

Introduced by the UK government for universities in England, higher-rate fees led the Scottish Government to allow universities north of the Border the right to charge students from England, Northern Ireland and Wales up to £9,000 a year.

Mr Russell said he was “not convinced by any means” of the current system.

The minister’s comments came as the Scottish Government announced changes to post-graduate support, which will see an extra 2,300 students eligible for loan support of up to £3,400 towards the cost of their tuition fees.

Meanwhile, the Open University said its undergraduate fees for students in Scotland would remain at current levels plus inflation for 2012-13, meaning that students would continue to pay an average of £1,610 for the equivalent of a year of full-time study.