Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently said, “Around half of people go to university today, but half don’t. And it is not right that people who don’t go to university are having to bear all the cost for others to do so.” This comes after Reeves announced that in 2027, the wage at which students have to begin to repay their loans will be frozen at over £29,000 for three years.
This may not be the only change facing students when it comes to affording university. The Scottish Tories have said that they are “actively looking” at reversing free tuition for Scottish students in an attempt to redirect public spending.
Asked by The Telegraph whether tuition fees would be reinstated under a Scottish Conservative Government, Scottish Tory Leader, Russell Findlay, said, “there’s some kind of compromise that needs to be reached because it is clearly financially unsustainable under the existing model.”
According to the IFS, in 2024-25 the Scottish Government spent £900 million on undergraduate tuition.
What do Scottish students think about the possibility of re-instating tuition fees?
With the Scottish Parliamentary elections coming up in May, many students are worried that they may need to fork out thousands for their education if the government changes.
A poll conducted by Brig found that reinstating the fees would be massively unpopular among students in Stirling.
Over 80 per cent of respondents said that they oppose Findlay’s plan to reverse free tuition.
Ogaga Omiragwadia, a Scottish student, opposes Findlay’s suggestion, saying that it would be “devastating” for the country if free tuition were taken away. Omiragwadia added that not having to worry about the cost of an undergraduate degree is a “blessing”.
What have other political parties said on free tuition?
Free tuition fees, first introduced in 2008 by the SNP government, remain part of the First Minister John Swinney’s Cost of Living guarantees. SNP Education Minister, Jenny Gilruth recently told BBC Scotland that, “My party, the SNP, is never going to support a policy where we bring back tuition fees.”
Scottish Labour have been more vague on whether they would support reversing free tuition. Scottish Labour Leader MSP Anas Sarwar, said in February, “Scottish Labour’s support for free tuition is iron-clad, but the fact is the status quo is not working for universities or for Scottish students.”
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