Scots well qualified for a university education face a squeeze, with the number of places funded by the Scottish government about to drop.
According to figures released by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), there will be about 1,400 fewer funded places for Scottish students hoping to start a course north of the border.
There will also be fewer resources to support each student’s education, according to the umbrella body Universities Scotland because funding per student is being cut.
News of the cuts emerged as Alastair Sim, the Universities Scotland director, warned that demand for higher education places continued to outstrip availability, particularly on popular courses. He said institutions sympathised with very able applicants who felt frustrated that they were not being offered a place, despite Highers results demonstrating suitability for their preferred course.
He said: “The last two years of the pandemic have introduced a lot of volatility into university admissions. The government has funded an increase in places for 2020 and 2021 entrants to accommodate school-leavers who might otherwise have missed out, reflecting the increase in qualified applicants because of teacher-assessed grades. That isn’t being repeated for 2022 entrants now that exams have been restored.”
Sim highlighted another pressure that will affect students: a long-term decline in cash available to support each student’s education. Since 2014 he said, this had dropped in real terms by 14.6 per cent. Each Scottish-domiciled student is now funded at nearly £1,000 less per student compared to that baseline, he said.
He added: “That’s less resource universities have to support students with their lost learning and their transition from a highly disrupted school senior phase. That needs to be redressed so universities can invest in rebuilding students’ confidence, mental health and wellbeing, and in helping students to catch up on the lost learning they have suffered during the pandemic.”
Michael Marra, Labour’s education spokesman, said the current cohort of students had faced at least the same level of disruption due to the pandemic as the two previous years, which could only negatively impact on the life chances of a generation whose education has been blighted by Covid.
He said: “When we consider that today’s sixth-years have faced disruption to their studies their entire senior phase, it is astonishing the Scottish government is choosing this moment to pull additional funding.
“Throughout the pandemic, the Scottish government has had no appreciation of the impact of the disruption upon young people and hasn’t bothered to measure it. This decision is indicative of that. “
The Scottish government said: “Additional places were made available in 2020 and 2021 following changes to the exams system due to Covid-19. The number of places for 2022-23 will be finalised when SFC publish their final funding allocations in May. The 2022-23 budget allocates nearly £2 billion to Scotland’s universities and colleges, allowing Scotland’s young people to access a wide range of opportunities.”
Im sure they get more from Foreign students and would prefer it to stay that way
2 comments
Scots well qualified for a university education face a squeeze, with the number of places funded by the Scottish government about to drop.
According to figures released by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), there will be about 1,400 fewer funded places for Scottish students hoping to start a course north of the border.
There will also be fewer resources to support each student’s education, according to the umbrella body Universities Scotland because funding per student is being cut.
News of the cuts emerged as Alastair Sim, the Universities Scotland director, warned that demand for higher education places continued to outstrip availability, particularly on popular courses. He said institutions sympathised with very able applicants who felt frustrated that they were not being offered a place, despite Highers results demonstrating suitability for their preferred course.
He said: “The last two years of the pandemic have introduced a lot of volatility into university admissions. The government has funded an increase in places for 2020 and 2021 entrants to accommodate school-leavers who might otherwise have missed out, reflecting the increase in qualified applicants because of teacher-assessed grades. That isn’t being repeated for 2022 entrants now that exams have been restored.”
Sim highlighted another pressure that will affect students: a long-term decline in cash available to support each student’s education. Since 2014 he said, this had dropped in real terms by 14.6 per cent. Each Scottish-domiciled student is now funded at nearly £1,000 less per student compared to that baseline, he said.
He added: “That’s less resource universities have to support students with their lost learning and their transition from a highly disrupted school senior phase. That needs to be redressed so universities can invest in rebuilding students’ confidence, mental health and wellbeing, and in helping students to catch up on the lost learning they have suffered during the pandemic.”
Michael Marra, Labour’s education spokesman, said the current cohort of students had faced at least the same level of disruption due to the pandemic as the two previous years, which could only negatively impact on the life chances of a generation whose education has been blighted by Covid.
He said: “When we consider that today’s sixth-years have faced disruption to their studies their entire senior phase, it is astonishing the Scottish government is choosing this moment to pull additional funding.
“Throughout the pandemic, the Scottish government has had no appreciation of the impact of the disruption upon young people and hasn’t bothered to measure it. This decision is indicative of that. “
The Scottish government said: “Additional places were made available in 2020 and 2021 following changes to the exams system due to Covid-19. The number of places for 2022-23 will be finalised when SFC publish their final funding allocations in May. The 2022-23 budget allocates nearly £2 billion to Scotland’s universities and colleges, allowing Scotland’s young people to access a wide range of opportunities.”
Im sure they get more from Foreign students and would prefer it to stay that way