Swinney: Keeping free university education for Scots students is ‘important’

John Swinney has insisted it is “important” to keep university education free for Scottish students – despite a poll suggesting almost half of adults support the idea of introducing charges based on the ability to pay.

A poll found that 48% of people backed the idea of charging university tuition fees in Scotland, based on the ability to pay.

The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, which commissioned the research, said this could see students from lower income households paying less or not paying at all, while those students from higher income households would pay more.

Mr Swinney, however, said the SNP’s long-standing policy of not charging tuition fees on students from Scotland studying at universities north of the border had helped ensure more youngsters from poorer backgrounds can go to university.

It is important that we continue to have no tuition fees in relation to access to higher and further education.

The First Minister made clear the Scottish Government “intends to maintain that policy”.

He stated: “It is important that we continue to have no tuition fees in relation to access to higher and further education.

“I believe access to higher and further education should be based on the ability to pay to learn, not the ability to pay.”

His stance comes at a time when some universities are facing difficult decisions as a result of finances – with Dundee University proposing to cut 632 full-time equivalent posts to help it deal with a £35 million deficit.

Speaking to journalists during a visit to Kirkintilloch, Mr Swinney said: “I believe there should be no tuition fees charged for access to higher or further education.

“I believe the ability to learn should determine access to higher and further education, not the ability to pay.”

He insisted the Scottish Government’s policy approach had resulted in a “broadening and a widening of access to higher and further education”, with the First Minister adding this had happened “to the extent that we now have record levels of young people from deprived backgrounds taking part in higher education”.

Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) last week showed that 16.7% of full-time, first-degree entrants to Scottish universities in 2023-24 came from the country’s 20% most deprived areas – up from 16.3% the year before.

However, with universities seeing falling numbers of international entrants, he urged the UK Government to do more to help attract students from overseas.

HESA data also showed the number of foreign student numbers in Scotland fell from an all-time high of 83,975 in 2022-23 to 73,915 last year – a drop of nearly 12%.

With the income from fees charged for overseas students often vital for universities, Mr Swinney stressed the importance of “stability in university funding”.

And here he said it was “really important” that the UK Government “puts in place policies that will support and enable the recruitment of international students and remove some of the barriers”.

But he also said that universities need to use their “formidable strength” in research to boost their incomes, with the First Minister adding that “research income is so fundamental to the financial health of universities”.

His comments came as the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland polling, carried out by Ipsos UK, found of the 1.057 adults questioned 44% believed the the Scottish Government should continue to support all first-time undergraduates, while 43% said they would prefer those whose households could afford it to pay at least some of their tuition fees.

More than two fifths (43%) agreed too many people in Scotland continue to face barriers to going to university, with those from low-income households (65%) and disadvantaged backgrounds (55%) considered most likely to have difficulties with this.

Overall, the research found found almost half of Scottish adults (48%) supported the idea of charging university tuition fees based on the ability to pay, with less than a third (29%) not in favour of this.

Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland chief executive Hannah Garrow said: “We know how complex the higher education funding system is and how much rides on it.

“However, recent discussions on how to finance higher education feel like they are stuck on repeat, while for many people funding continues to be seen as a barrier to access.

“This research shows that there is room for a more nuanced and open discussion on priorities for funding.”