£30m bill for Swinney’s U-turn on exams fiasco
Taxpayers set to fork out for 4,000 extra uni places
JOHN Swinney’s humiliating U-turn over exam grades is set to cost the Scottish Government up to £30 million – by triggering a rush for university places.
It is understood that an extra 4,000 slots for Scottish students whose grades were marked back up after the results fiasco has been estimated during talks between Ministers and university chiefs, although the final figure has not yet been calculated.
The Scottish Government has promised universities that it will ‘fully fund’ the extra places.
However, cash-strapped institutions dispute that government funding meets costs, and believe they have fallen by £700 a place, in real terms, in recent years.
Now students, who have endured a rollercoaster few weeks, could face further dismay with some popular courses, such as medicine and nursing, filling up fast – and with limited space for extra capacity due to social distancing.
Thousands of pupils were left heartbroken when government quango the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) downgraded them earlier this month.
Education Secretary Mr Swinney initially backed that decision – but last Tuesday, the Government U-turned and restored grades based on teacher estimates.
He survived a vote of no confidence at Holyrood on Thursday.
The grades change is expected to mean more students will now qualify for university.
The Scottish Mail on Sunday understands that, while it is not yet known how many extra places are needed, an estimate of 4,000 has been given. With places costing the Government £7,000 to £7,500 on average, the total cost could be up to £30 million this year alone.
But with places underfunded by £700 each, it could blow a further £2.8 million black hole in the finances of universities, which have already been hammered by the Covid crisis.
Scottish Tory higher education spokesman Jamie Halcro Johnston said: ‘Young Scots should have every opportunity to study the course they’ve earned a place on.
‘They shouldn’t have to scale back their dreams because of the SNP’s exam fiasco or any other reason.’
Scottish Labour’s education spokesman Iain Gray said: ‘John Swinney cannot shift the cost of clearing up his mess on to hardpressed universities.’
Higher education institutions are working to accommodate additional students, in terms of staffing and ratios, although the problem may be eased if fewer international students take up places.
Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, said: ‘Universities want to create as many additional opportunities as possible for students based on their teacher awarded grades.
‘Principals have been in discussions with the Deputy First Minister [Mr Swinney] to work through the logistical implications, so universities can respond as quickly as possible to the policy change and minimise further disruption.
‘The Government has given us indications that where extra places are needed, they will be funded.’
Even before Mr Swinney’s announcement, St Andrews University had been working to try to find a solution.
Director of admissions Julie Ramsay said: ‘Every Scottish applicant has been considered in detail and every near miss assessed by an expert panel and re-offered.
‘All candidates were contacted by us in advance of the results to supply us with mitigating circumstances if they thought they might be affected to ensure that all applicants were treated individually.’
The Scottish Government said: ‘The number of extra places that may be needed is being calculated. We will fully fund the additional places and work closely with the Scottish Funding Council and further and higher education sectors to finalise what is required.’
‘Cannot shift the cost of clearing up his mess’
THE SNP regularly trumpets free tuition fees for Scottish students as evidence that it is peculiarly progressive. The truth is that this populist policy has always been flawed.
To provide ‘free’ tuition, Ministers have had to cap the number of places available to students living in Scotland, funding them through charges levied on those from England and non-EU countries.
The pandemic threatens the viability of this fragile arrangement. With uncertainty over travel, Scottish universities expect to have far fewer English and foreign students in the year ahead.
Now the system is under even greater pressure, after Education Secretary John Swinney promised his Government would honour all offers of places made to Scottish pupils whose results have now been marked up after the exams fiasco.
As many as 4,000 extra university places will have to be found across the country and, with tuition fees of up to £7,500, that will mean funding a bill of £30 million every year.
Universities have already raised concerns about the level of government funding for ‘free’ tuition, arguing that investment in the policy has fallen, in real terms, by £700 per student.
The SNP rose to power in 2007 on the back of a fairy story that it would provide uniquely competent government. The truth is that it prefers lazy giveaways to real, reforming policy.
Mr Swinney is now a Minister without a grip on his brief. He ignored warnings that letting the Scottish Qualifications Authority decide final grades this year would hurt pupils from the poorest areas, and agreed to overturn the results only when the pressure became too great.
With his pledge on university places, he has, yet again, acted without considering the consequences.