IN November 2014 former first minister Alex Salmond unveiled a stone at Heriot Watt University inscribed with the message: "The rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scotland's students."
Just over a decade on, that stone has not only been removed but the debate around the continuation of free tuition has intensified, with universities such as Dundee and Edinburgh announcing huge cuts.
A poll this week by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland showed voters are now divided over the policy, with 48% of people believing Scottish students who can afford it should pay for tuition, with 29% opposed.
A different multiple-choice question produced a closer result. It found 43% believed those who could afford to should pay, while 44% felt every student should get free tuition.
John Swinney has said in the wake of the poll that it is “important” to keep education free for Scottish students, but can this SNP flagship policy really go on indefinitely, or does something need to change?
‘Those attacking free education should know better’
Free tuition for undergraduates was first introduced in 2008 by the SNP, in a vote-winning move to scrap the graduate endowment tax then used to partly pay for tuition in Scotland.
But in recent weeks, Dundee University has revealed it is on the brink of insolvency and plans to cut more than 600 jobs, while staff at Edinburgh University have been warned about an "urgent" gap in financial stability which could lead to programmes and schools being closed.
Universities rely on foreign students paying full-cost fees to subsidise teaching costs for Scottish students, but the number of overseas students coming to Scotland fell by 10,000 in 2023/24.
The free tuition policy also means the Scottish Government caps the number of Scottish students who can go to university.
“Free tuition been a huge success with an increase of 30% in Scottish domiciled students going to college and university,” he told The National.
“Calls to reintroduce Labour’s tax on Scottish education, backed by the Tories, shows the risks of what we can expect if we lose a pro-independence majority at the next Holyrood elections.
“Higher education is one of the great success stories of the Scottish economy and society over the last 18 years. Meanwhile, south of the Border, the student loans system is in meltdown and young people are emerging to take their place in society with an albatross of many tens of thousands of pounds of debt around their necks.
“Instead of moving the dial backwards, we should be powering forward with a further huge expansion of Scottish higher education.”
McEleny argued “unreasonable caps” on certain subject areas needed to be lifted while international graduates should be encouraged to stay in Scotland for a period after graduation.
“Firstly, Scotland should control and expand the entry of overseas students into our higher education sector. In addition, these skilled youngsters should be encouraged to live and work in Scotland at least for a period after graduation," he said.
“Secondly, although Scottish entries into university have been rapidly expanding overall, we have saw unreasonable caps in key subject areas introduced in recent years. These should now be lifted and every qualified student should be offered a place.
“Thirdly, there should be a national bursary scheme for working class youngsters without the requisite formal qualifications, but who have graduated through schemes recognising voluntary work, to enrol in our top universities after a foundation course.
“Those attacking free education should know better.”
‘The Government must act'
Mary Senior, the Scotland official for the University and College Union, said while she does not support getting rid of free tuition, the Scottish Government needs to better fund universities.
"We do not see any merit in saddling students with thousands of pounds of debt," she said.
"It is true to say the university sector, however, has seen a decade of underinvestment primarily from the teaching grant from the Scottish Funding Council, which comes from the Scottish Government.
"We’ve said government needs to put their money where their mouth. They’ve got this policy, we support it, and they need to effectively fund it because that’s what’s not happening right now."
Struggle to attract international students
Senior also explained there have been significant challenges attracting international students to Scotland in recent years.
In January last year, the UK Government implemented new rules restricting international students from bringing family members on student visas.
"This has become harder over the past year because last January the then-UK government introduced new rules for overseas students and their dependents which made it off putting for students to come to the UK," she said.
"When we’re expecting the fees from international students to cross-subsidise the teaching of Scottish-domiciled students, that’s become incredibly challenging."
Firms 'should pay fair share'
The students' union at Aberdeen University has said there needs to be a new public funding model to support education, where companies that profit from skilled graduates “pay their fair share”.
Christina Schmid, student president said: “Scotland’s education system needs real public investment, funding that fully covers the costs and secures its future.
“International students shouldn’t be forced to pay extortionate tuition fees, and no students should have to watch their courses and support services disappear because of government inaction.
“It’s time for a new public funding model – one that puts education first. Companies that profit from highly skilled graduates need to pay their fair share, and we need a progressive taxation that ensures long-term sustainability.
“Education benefits everyone in society not just students so the burden shouldn’t fall solely on those studying right now. The Scottish Government has the power to fix this, but we need them to act before it’s too late.”
Dr Ewan Gibbs, a lecturer at the University of Glasgow, is also of the view the Scottish Government must increase how much it pays universities for undergraduate students if free tuition is to sustainably continue.
He said on Twitter/X: “We can't indefinitely afford a system that relies on institutions making its money from international and rest of UK students to subsidise Scottish students.
“I support the free tuition fees policy but I do think there needs to be frankness about how it's paid for by universities at the moment and why that can't continue.”
Higher Education Minister Graeme Dey said: “Universities make a valuable contribution to Scotland’s economy and wider society. Ministers listened closely to the sector in the development of this year’s budget, and we are investing over £1.1 billion in university teaching and research in 2025-26.
“There a number of factors impacting universities, including UK Government migration policies and the increase to employer national insurance contributions, which is estimated to cost Scottish universities over £48 million.
“Since February, we have announced an additional £25 million to be made available through the Scottish Funding Council, to support universities facing financial challenges.
“I have also been clear that Government and the Scottish Funding Council will continue to engage closely with the sector as institutions develop their plans for financial sustainability.”
