No tuition fees under us, say SNP

Tuition fees will not be imposed on Scottish students studying in Scotland under the present government, said education secretary Mike Russell.

The comment follows the university tuition fees report by Lord Browne earlier in the month, which recommended a raise in tuition fees.

Speaking at the NUS Scotland conference, the MSP for South of Scotland made the clearest statement by a Scottish politician regarding tuition fees.

He said "alternative solutions to tuition fees" should be fully explored in a debate involving government, universities and students about how Scottish higher education will be paid for in the future.

"We cannot hide from what Lord Browne might say," said Mr Russell.

"We have to acknowledge that it will pose difficult questions for us in Scotland on how we fund our universities and university students in the future.

"But this government does not believe that the answer to those questions is tuition fees. There are challenges for us in Scotland - Browne only serves to bring those into a sharper focus, it does not create them.

"This government has re-established the principle of free education and will not introduce tuition fees."

If the UK government were to follow Lord Browne’s recommendations, English and Welsh universities could charge British students upwards of £7,000.  

There are fears that a rise in English and Welsh fees could incite a mass exodus of prospective university applicants north of the border in search of cheaper fees, putting extra pressure on already strained undergraduate places.

In October 2009, Fiona Hyslop, the previous SNP Education Secretary, bowed to pressure from NUS Scotland and opposition parties to extend loans, as well as grants, as part of a £30 million funding package.

Following that announcement, Liam Burns, NUS Scotland president, said: “For years we’ve been calling for student hardship to be prioritised over graduate debt, getting money into students’ pockets when they need it most, and today’s announcement does this.”

In an interview with BBC Radio Scotland, Mr Russell said: "I accept there will have to be major changes in Scotland in higher education, I think we all know that after the Labour mismanagement of the economy.

"There isn't any one solution, there are a range of solutions that will change the cost base of higher education.”