Backlash over cap on English students at Scottish universities

SCOTTISH universities have reacted furiously to plans to limit their intake of English students, potentially costing them millions of pounds in fees.

They have blasted the UK Government’s proposal as a ‘late and low blow’, with the sector already fearing a huge loss from plummeting numbers of foreign students, due to coronavirus fears.

The proposed cap was expected to apply only to English universities and was devised in response to some institutions south of the Border changing their offers to secure more students for the 2020/21 academic year, potentially at the expense of rivals.

However, tomorrow the UK’s Department for Education will outline plans to alter student loan legislation to include a cap in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well. That could be financially devastating for Scottish universities.

They already fear a deficit of up to £651 million from reduced numbers of students from outside the EU, who have to pay fees.

Unlike Scots, English students also pay fees – £9,250 a year. With 5,254 starting first-year courses in Scotland last year, that is an income of almost £50 million. Scottish universities have already made offers of places for next year, which they are legally required to honour, and so could already be at risk of breaching the new rules.

Alastair Sim, director of the umbrella group Universities Scotland, said: ‘Number controls were a specific solution to address a specific admissions problem in England, that Scotland’s universities had no part in.

‘At no point has it been in any way clear that the UK Government intended to extend controls beyond England. This is a late and low blow. The devolved administrations should be removed from this intended legislative change.

‘It is not the role of the UK Government to determine student numbers in Scotland.’

Universities Scotland also says its members have not benefited from repackaged funding to support English institutions.

Because this came out of the existing Department of Education budget, there was not additional cash for Scotland through the Barnett formula. Mr Sim added: ‘The financial impact of the pandemic is causing significant concern for our universities and their student and staff communities.

‘The UK Government’s package of measures for UK universities in early May was England-only in the financial support it offered but it now seems to be UK-wide when it comes to the controls. This is unacceptable.’

A St Andrews University spokesman said: ‘This looks like an attempt to prevent bright students from south of the Border studying at several of the UK’s best universities.

‘It is deeply regrettable that there has been no consultation with universities in Scotland about this, which raises concerns about the extent to which higher education in the devolved nations is even being thought about at Westminster.’

The Scottish Government is hoping to secure a last minute U-turn.

Richard Lochhead, Scottish Higher Education Minister, said: ‘We do not support these proposals and they should not apply to Scotland. That view is widely shared within the Scottish higher education sector and I have written to the UK Government making that clear.

‘Higher education is devolved and the Scottish elements of this proposals package should be removed immediately.’

A UK Department for Education spokesman said: ‘We announced a package of support, including student number controls, to bring stability to the higher education sector and protect students and providers from the impact of coronavirus.

‘We want everyone who achieves their entry requirements to be able to go to university, and these measures are a vital part of ensuring this, while avoiding harmful overrecruitment among providers, which could go against the interests of students and universities.

‘We will shortly be setting out further details on how the student number controls will be implemented, including how they will work in the devolved administrations.’

‘Deeply regrettable there has been no consultation’