Michael Russell, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, has told the NUS Scotland conference that his Scottish National Party (SNP) government will not introduce fees for Scottish students.

Senior higher education figures, including Lord Sutherland, former Principal of the University of Edinburgh, have said that the SNP’s policy is short-sighted, and will damage the quality of education in Scotland. There is a fear that under-funding will cause an exodus of top academic staff, and a fall in teaching standards, relative to other British institutions.

Lord Browne of Madingley is conducting an inquiry into fees in England and Wales, to be published later this year, which may include recommendations for yet higher fees. If so, further pressure will be placed on the SNP to clarify future funding plans; Labour have called their current policy “unsustainable”.

Mr Russell commented:

“We cannot hide from what Lord Browne might say. 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.”

Source: BBC, Times Online