The SNP provides free University tuition for Scottish students at Scottish universities. Labour thinks they should pay. What’s the problem?

The BBC in Scotland is actively criticising The SNP for continuing to provide free University tuition for Scottish students. It means higher education is more inclusive and less dependent on ability to pay. Students in Scotland end up which much smaller Student Loans to pay off – if they still require one for living expenses.

Westminster’s increasingly hostile attitude to international students – counted in its immigration figures – is making it increasingly hard to attract them.

Critics claim that the Scottish Government doesn’t provide enough funding and that Scottish universities are therefore very reliant on income from foriegn students. They ignore the fact that Higher Education (HE) providers in England have a comparable level of dependence on foriegn students.

In fact many HE providers in England are in a worringly bad financial state, compared to those in Scotland. And this is despite providers in England charging domestic students increasingly high fees.

Let’s compare England and Scotland HE providers using some key financial indicators:

(clickable version)

This chart shows how much of a surplus (or deficit) providers had by the end of the 2023-24 Academic Year, in proportion to their total income. Many providers in England are running a deficit, whereas those in Scotland either have a much smaller deficit or are running a surplus.

So how safe from financial failure are these providers?

(clickable version)

This chart shows for how many days a Higher Education provider such as a University can cover its expenditure, using its current cash and liquid assets. The bigger the better. Labour clearly has a big problem in England: many providers have no or little liquidity. A slight hiccup in income could easily drive them into greater deficit.

Is there a problem with free tuition?

Scotland’s universities are not in a hugely strong financial position – but they are in a much better position than a very large number of English institutions. To claim that the Scottish Government has caused a problem unique to Scotland through continuation of free tuition is blatantly not true.

There are more UK-wide systemic problems – such as Westminster’s ideological position on treating international students as something to be reviled rather than a as benefit to the country. This affects Scotland just as much as it does England – but Labour would rather we look somewhere else. Free tuition is simply an attempt to distract.

A better question to ask is – why does Labour continue to force ever increasing Student Loans on English students, which are clearly not being paid off. Why does Labour encourage exclusivity in University education rather than Scotland’s more inclusive approach. Is education opportunity not for all?