End to free university education edging closer – Daily Business

Tuition fees may have to be introduced Scotland as universities struggle to balance their books, say experts.

An investigation for the Royal Society of Edinburgh, led by the economist Sir Anton Muscatelli, has concluded that the next Scottish government will need to review the current funding structure.

A report included evidence from the consultancy London Economics which showed that the cost of higher education to the public purse was three times higher in Scotland than England, where tuition fees are charged. It discovered that English universities have 24% more money to spend per student.

Furthermore, the higher education sector in Scotland is in financial crisis. Twenty-two of 24 colleges are expected to fall into the red this year and universities including Dundee and Edinburgh have announced cuts.

The RSE has called for an independent review of university and college funding, to be commissioned by the Scottish government elected next May and ideally with cross-party support, according to The Times which first reported the story.

Sir Andrew Cubie, who was asked by the first devolved government in Scotland to look at tuition fees and student grants, was one of the authors of the RSE report. He said: “I think the platform is burning and something needs to be done about that.”

Graduates previously paid a “graduate endowment” towards their course fees but Nicola Sturgeon scrapped the scheme in 2008. Sir Andrew says something similar should be reinstated.

Alice Brown, a former chair of the Scottish Funding Council, which contributed to the RSE report, said charging fees was not as unpopular as might be expected, with the majority polled by Universities Scotland in favour of imposing tuition fees based on the ability to pay.