This new IFS comment shows how recent years have seen falls in
funding for teaching Scottish undergraduates and a gradual
erosion of support for living costs. This academic year, Scottish
universities received direct public funding of £7,610 for
teaching each Scottish student, 19% less in real terms than in
2013–14 and 21% less than English universities receive for
teaching England-domiciled students.
Despite a £900 uplift in loan entitlements this year, the
freezing of parental earnings thresholds means some Scottish
students were entitled to a quarter (£2,120) less living cost
support than equivalent students would have been in 2016–17. The
Scottish Government plans to boost support for students next
year, increasing the amount they can borrow by £2,400. The cost
of these additional loans will not impact the Scottish
Government’s main budget as student loans are, in effect, funded
by the UK government.
It is much harder to see how the Finance Minister, , can boost funding for
universities at next week’s Scottish Budget. Under Scotland’s
current model of ‘free tuition’, any rise in per-student funding
or in the number of places for Scottish students comes at the
expense of spending on other priorities, and the Scottish
Government is already facing a funding gap in excess of £1
billion next year.
Kate Ogden, a senior researcher at IFS and an author of
the comment, said:
‘The Scottish policy of free university tuition is a totemic
symbol of Scotland’s more universal approach to public service
provision. But it is costly too, and a desire to control costs
has seen resources for teaching being gradually eroded over time
and also caps on the number of funded places for Scottish
undergraduates.
‘In the incredibly difficult financial context the Scottish
Government finds itself in, its own Medium-Term Financial
Strategy argues that there is now a need to consider whether more
targeted arrangements “may offer greater value for money and an
improved offer to those most in need”. Boosting the amount
students can borrow to help pay for the costs they incur in going
to university will particularly help those who would otherwise
struggle financially. But a trickier question still looms: is a
commitment to free university tuition for all offering the best
value for money, especially given the myriad pressures facing the
Scottish budget?’
Read the briefing in
full here
ENDS
Notes to Editor
Scottish universities and students are under pressure – and
so is the Scottish budget is an IFS comment by Kate
Ogden and David Phillips.
You can read it on the IFS website here: https://ifs.org.uk/articles/scottish-universities-and-students-are-under-pressure-and-so-scottish-budget
