The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
£1.8 billion boost for Scots education
Universities and colleges will share increased public funding of £1.8 billion for the next academic year, ministers have announced.
Universities will share more than £1.1 billion of funding, an increase of 1.2% from the investment made in 2017/18.
The revenue budget for colleges will increase by 8.3% to nearly £600 million, with the college capital budget also increasing by nearly £30 million to a total of £76.7 million.
The indicative allocations, published by the Scottish Funding Council, also show core student support funding increasing by £3.6 million, with an extra £5.2 million set aside for the implementation of the Independent Review of Student Support.
Announcing the allocations, Further and Higher Education Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Universities and colleges are one of the cornerstones of Scotland’s education system, supporting people of all ages to fulfil their potential in life.
“They also have a significant role to play in creating a fairer society, and through our shared agenda to widen access to further and higher education we can help close the attainment gap between our most and least deprived young people.”
John Kemp, interim CEO of the Scottish Funding Council, said: “This is good news for everyone who benefits from further and higher education.”