Universities warn of impact of funding cut

EDUCATION: New deal will hit finances and could affect institutions’ wider role in society

Scottish universities have warned a funding cut could have devastating economic consequences.

Critics say the new Scottish Funding Council deal for the higher and further education sectors will amount to a cut of more than 2% in real terms for many universities.

According to umbrella organisation Universities Scotland, St Andrews will be hit with a 2.7% reduction. Abertay faces a 2.4% cut and Dundee 2.3%.

Chief executive Karen Watt said research and teaching funding will be retained at the same level as the current financial year.

However, a St Andrews University spokesman warned there was a danger of a knock-on impact on the wider community.

“Universities are not only academic institutions but economic powerhouses whose work supports thousands of jobs, business and innovation in communities across Scotland,” he said.

“In St Andrews, we make a net contribution of over £450 million a year to the economy and 8,000 people rely on us for employment – that is 6,000 more people than we directly employ.

“It is going to be extremely challenging for us to maintain that critically supportive and catalytic role in Scottish society in the face of sustained and significant cuts in funding.”

A Dundee University spokesman said: “We produce world-class research that transforms lives locally and globally, we attract students and staff from around the world, and we make a huge economic impact, something which is especially important in Dundee where we are one of the largest employers and creators of economic growth.

“We recorded a financial deficit last year and while we have a long-term plan to improve our financial sustainability, that will inevitably be made harder by this reduction in core funding.”

A spokesman for Abertay University said: “This latest cut will make running the university more challenging.

“We will continue to manage the university finances prudently and invest where we can to maintain the best possible student experience.”

Professor Andrea Nolan, convener of Universities Scotland and principal of Edinburgh Napier University said: “University funding has already been cut by £127.6m in real terms since 2014/15 and the sector’s pension bill alone is set to increase by £23m a year.

A Scottish Government spokesman said more than £1 billion has been invested in universities every year since 2012-13.

This latest cut will make running the university more challenging. ABERTAY UNIVERSITY SPOKESMAN