Biscuitman

Fee refugees 'squeezing out' Scots students

KEVIN SCHOFIELD EDUCATION CORRESPONDENT

Key points• University placement body's figures show fall in Scots studying in Scotland
• Figures also show rise in English students coming north
• Executive to increase fees charged to English students as deterrent

Key quote
"We said the introduction of top-up fees would lead to a flow of English students applying to Scottish universities, and although the Executive has tried to level the playing field by introducing charges for English students, it does appear these charges are having a very limited impact" - Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservative spokesman on lifelong learning

Story in full

FEARS grew last night that Scottish students are losing out on university places to English students trying to escape the effects of top-up fees south of the Border.

Figures released by the clearing body UCAS showed that, while the number of English school-leavers gaining places at Scottish universities has gone up in the past 12 months, the number of Scots has fallen.

The statistics also showed that the total number of Scots going to university is dropping, despite the fact that increasing numbers of school-leavers are entering higher education in the rest of the UK.

Nicol Stephen, the lifelong learning minister, admitted he was concerned that Scottish students were being "squeezed out" by their English counterparts.

From this year, universities in England will be able to charge their students up to £3,000 a year in top-up fees.

The Executive has announced that it will increase charges for English students heading north in an attempt to deter so-called "fee refugees" taking the places of Scots school-leavers. But politicians expressed their concerns that the measures may not go far enough.

According to UCAS, the number of English students being accepted by Scottish universities rose by 5.4 per cent from 4,067 in 2004 to 4,287 last year. Over the same period, the number of Scots gaining places at Scottish universities fell by 2.4 per cent from 26,343 to 25,710.

Murdo Fraser, the Scottish Conservatives' spokesman for lifelong learning, said: "We said the introduction of top-up fees would lead to a flow of English students applying to Scottish universities, and although the Executive has tried to level the playing field by introducing charges for English students, it does appear these charges are having a very limited impact.

"Our concern will be if talented young Scots are squeezed out of places at Scottish universities and forced further afield."

Mr Stephen admitted he was concerned by the latest figures. "I want to monitor this situation closely," he said. "There must be no suggestion that Scottish students are being squeezed out in preference to students from England and overseas."

The UCAS figures show that while the number of UK-based students rose by 7.8 per cent from 334,295 in 2004 to 360,295 in 2005, the number of Scots undergraduates fell from 28,225 to 27,673. Over the same period, the number of English students rose by 8.9 per cent, those from Wales increased by 4.7 per cent, and the number from Northern Ireland went up by 8 per cent.

But Fiona Hyslop, the SNP education spokeswoman, said the fear of debt was to blame for the fall in Scots under-graduates.

She said: "The reduction in Scottish students being accepted to Scottish universities reflects a drop in applications from Scots students and is connected to a fear of debt. Access to education must be based on academic ability, not ability to pay, and the Executive must do all it can to safeguard the rights of talented Scots to a university education."

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IF THE EU WAS THE ANSWER, IT MUST HAVE BEEN A STUPID QUESTION!

Westcountryman

Blame the Government, it wouldn't happen if they didn't tax English people to death, and then some. I'm sure the same is happening to Welsh students too.

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Manus haec inimica tyrannis ense petit placidam sub libertate quietam - "This hand of mine, which is hostile to tyrants, seeks by the sword quiet peace under liberty."