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?

Don't Scottish exams count for English unis? Surely they must do?

Of course, it doesn't actually cost the parents anything; the students take out the loan and are responsible for repayments, if they earn over £21K pa after graduation. (English system!)

So, all in, much ado about nothing.

Yes, Scottish exams count for English Unis, I was joking about excluding A levels from the Scottish tertiary education system!

Oh, OK.

It's all very confusing, though.

YANBU it's grossly unfair!

Doesn't help when they keep changing the secondary qualifications.

[dark look]

Yes, you learn all about it for one kid, then they change it all around for when the next kid gets to the same stage. Harrumph.

Yes, Snapespeare it was difficult having to pay fees for DD but we accepted it as there would have been fees to pay had she chosen an English university.

I wasn't aware that EU students don't have to pay though.

Newsnight Scotland is discussing this now

There is also the bigger issue about how Scottish Universities are funded. The SNP do not seem to have a magic money-making machine, even though their policies would suggest this is the case, and HEIs are having to bear the brunt of the cut in fees being charged.

I am strongly of the belief that education should be a right, not a priviledge, and should not have to be paid for. However, as one who works in Higher Education (at a relatively 'rich' Scottish Institution at that) we are looking at having to meet a massive shortfall in funding, and that means cutting corners on education, staffing, facilities, the lot.

So - we're not neccessarily in the best position here, and whilst it may be 'free' to attend at present for Scottish resident students, we may yet end up with no (or very few) Universities left in Scotland at this rate, which would be an outrage. Rant over. :)

I am strongly of the belief that education should be a right, not a priviledge

Hear hear, Jenstar

westminster decided that England SHOULD charge tuition fees. We ALL had free places before that, FFS!!
The Scottish devolved government decided they wanted people LIVING in Scotland to CONTINUE to have free places (i.e. not "Scottish people").
They didnt say "oh, let's just charge English people, but everyone else can come for free." Bloody hell.

And as people have said, it is an EU law/directive(?) that you cannot charge EU students more than you charge your own. But actually, I believe there is currently a fight to try to change that, so they can be charged too (not sure if it is Holyrood or Westminster who is fighting for this)

We are Scottish, my DD studied in England but we had to pay fees in Scotland.

Deste, do you live in England?

We live in Scotland but DD wanted to study near London. In Scotland at the time, Scottish students had to pay approx £1250 as your share of the fees if you were in a position to pay. Even though she wasn't studying in Scotland we still had to pay. My DD did get an award to pay her English fees, the equivalent of a DADA. (Dance and Drama award). That was 6 years ago. She is now about to start a PDGE in Scotland and has been told she will get her fees paid. You are entitled to 4 years funding, so by rights she has not had funding in Scotland.

I attended a lecture by the Principal of the University of Edinburgh a few years ago (in England, at a predominantly English conference of University administrators) in which he detailed the profound differences in attitude/mentality towards education in England and Scotland (he had worked in both systems). It made a tremendous amount of sense and threw into relief the whole fees argument. Scotland simply has a long tradition of supporting education for all, for supporting the very brightest and encouraging them to follow through - the whole Lad O' Pairts philosophy which has never really existed in the same way elsewhere in the UK. I wish he would publish a transcript as it was very interesting.

I am gutted that we have moved south (work ...) and my boys will no longer be entitled to free places at some of the best universities in the world ... as such they will be doing the IB rather than A levels and we will be encouraging them to look beyond the UK for tertiary education.

Interesting article in a programme today saying it costs very little to study in Holland.

I think you have to be back living in Scotland 2 years and that would apply to English students to get free tuition.

I think that is correct.