to feel that English students (but not those from the EU!) having to pay university fees in Scotland is grossly unfair?

[bamboostalks]

How can this be justified? Who can defend this? Why is this allowed?

Scotland's education system is devolved therefore Scotland can decide how to run the system.

scotland has its own devolved government who have control over education. i do think its a bit off that EU students can study for free, but i think its amazing that the scottish government are trying to let scottish students have a free education. maybe the english need to get some sort of devolved governance which would allow them to make similar decisions.

But surely this is totally discriminatory?
.

I don't think it is fair at all EU students can study for free. In fact it makes me pretty angry.
On the other hand if English students got it free up in Scotland as opposed to England all the Scottish universities would be overflowing.

The fact that the funding comes in part from English tax payers is also so infuriating.

i agree that it is unfair - but i can't see what the alternative could possibly be, scotland's higher education sector is not big enough to absorb all the students that would come from england if it was free.

the scottish government has decided that free higher education is a priority for the scottish people - it cannot possibly support this for all uk students. i think it would be fairer if all EU students paid a flat-rate and only scots got in free.

I completely agree and I'm from Scotland! I didn't realise that EU students can study for free though. That's even worse.

I agree bamboo, surely England is in the EU? and we don't get a devolved government, cos we might vote to upset the formula that gives more money to scotland!

If it's any consolation I doubt it will last. I can't see how it's sustainable tbh.

I would prefer it wasn't free to EU either BUT the quantity of people who would come to Scotland to study for free if it was free to english students is far far more than the Scottish educational system could possibly cope with. All that would happen is a situation where Scottish students would struggle to get places locally as half of England would also be applying for them.

What justification have they given for excluding all English (and Welsh btw, not sure about NI) students from free education while allowing EU students? Where is the reasoning published?

I realise I'm not concentrating, but how come hordes of European students don't flock to Scottish Unis?

As Ivor says, Scotland's population would be quadrupled suddenly (at least) if all English students could go free.

I live in Belgium and the French and Dutch speaking Education systems are entirely devolved. In the Dutch speaking system, you only need pay a defined amount extra for everything ie 25 euros I think. In the French speaking system, you pay for every pencil, every trip, every animation thingy. In my case - I live in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium and pay my taxes there, but my dd is in French speaking education.

Part of me says, this is a choice we made as to where to live etc, the other part screams - this is fecking stupid, we all live in the same country.

It's only free to EU students because Scotland is bound by EU law. The Scottish Government want to address this anomaly.

Then Eu students shouldn't be free. I can't imagine the fuss if Scottish students but not English/French/German/etc. had to pay in English Unis.

Camilla, European students pay miniscule tuition eg. 150 euros per year, and live at home. Why on earth would they flock to UK?

Presumably it means that far fewer Scottish students come to English unis??

Oh ffs, should have known this would turn in to a "english give the scots money" thread

You do know it's not actually quite that simple and Scotland does actually, you know, produce some things and contribute to the British economy? It's amazing, some of us even have jobs and pay tax.

A record number of EU students have enrolled at Scottish universities which is probably why the Scottish Government want to address the problem!

Sorry, Porto, did not know that about EU students .

I bet this will turn to benefits, immigration and all that crap

I think the argument that Scotish Uni's would be overwhelmed by English students is flawed. The University's would, surely, still only be able to accept the same number of students.

This just feels like a bit of a two fingered salute to the English tbh.

Scottish education is clearly up to the Scottish people. No problem there. And if they can afford to have their students study free then fair play to them.

However, there is an argument to be said that it's blatant discrimination to say that English students cannot study for free but the rest of the EU can.

www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2011/01/13105353

EU law says that students from other EU countries can't be charged higher fees than home students. England and Scotland aren't countries in the eyes of the EU, they're just regions within the UK. So it's not against EU law to charge more to English students than to Scottish ones. It's a consequence of devolution.

If UK students study elsewhere in the EU, they also benefit from fees at the same rate as home students.