Uni’s EU students to pay tuition fees in 2021
EU students attending Stirling University will have to pay tuition fees from 2021/22 following Brexit.
Announcing the move last week, the minister for Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Richard Lochhead MSP, said that the decision was a “direct result of Scotland being forced out the EU”.
Under EU law, the free tuition policy for Scotsbased students required EU citizens to be treated the same.
Mr Lochhead pledged to keep the funding that currently supports EU places within the higher education sector and that the number of university places for students from Scotland would rise as a result.
Updating Parliament on the impact of Brexit, Mr Lochhead said: “As a result of EU law, since this government abolished tuition fees, we have treated EU students in the same way we treat students from Scotland. They do not pay tuition fees.
“It is with a heavy heart that we have taken the difficult decision to end free education for new EU students from the academic year 2021/22 onwards as a consequence of Brexit.
“EU students who have already started their studies, or who start this autumn, will not be affected and will still be tuition free for the entirety of their course.
“As a consequence of the decision we have taken on EU students we must also decide what happens to the funding that currently supports those places. I can confirm that we will not remove the funding we currently devote to paying EU student fees from the overall funding for the sector. On current trends and following further analysis, we estimate this could be up to £19m for 21/22.”
Stirling University is currently attended by students from 120 countries around the world.
A spokesperson for the university said: “We welcome the clarity from the Scottish Government on the fee status for entrants from the EEA starting university in 2021.
“We appreciate that this will not have been an easy decision for the Scottish Government to make as Scotland’s partnerships and extensive connections with the EU will always be highly valued. However, this decision does offer Scotland an important opportunity to fullyfund the undergraduate education of Scottish students and shift the public funding of degree places onto solid ground for the first time in years. The pandemic has demonstrated how much that is needed.
“We can also reassure all existing undergraduate students from the EEA, that this change only applies to new students, starting courses in academic year 2021/22. There is no change for new entrants beginning in academic year 2020/21, nor is there any change for any current EU student who is already enrolled in a Scottish university and studying for a degree.”
Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford, says that the move is “one of the many sad outcomes of Scotland being removed from the European Union against our will”, adding that providing free tuition to EU students will no longer be sustainable with the new constitutional arrangements in place.
Mr Crawford added: “Brexit has been an assault on who Scotland is as a country. We are an outward-looking and inclusive nation, looking to welcome those from elsewhere with open arms, and encourage the contribution of others here.
“EU students who have studied here are likely to have become new Scots, staying in this country long after they’ve completed their studies and contributing to our economy and our communities. This has been of huge benefit to our rich society.
“The Further and Higher Education Minister has made clear that, upon an independent Scotland re-joining the EU, the Scottish Government will reintroduce free tuition for EU citizens, encouraging more people to come to our country, to study and to contribute to our way of life.”