‘Disaster’ if Brexit ends Erasmus, says lecturer

The loss of a European student exchange programme would be a “major disaster” for language teaching in Scottish schools, says a Dundee lecturer.

The Erasmus+ scheme allows young Scots to study for part of their degree elsewhere in the Europe, but its future is uncertain after Brexit.

Marion Spöring, a languages lecturer at Dundee University, said the programme is vital in training Scotland’s teachers.

“If we lost this, it would be a major disaster,” she told MSPs.

Ms Spöring, who is chairwoman of the university council for modern languages Scotland, also said the assumption that “everybody speaks English” is a “fallacy”.