SNP pledges to maintain free tuition for Scottish students despite funding crisis

The Scottish National Party (SNP) have pledged that they will never reintroduce tuition fees for Scottish students despite universities in Scotland increasingly reporting budget struggles.  

Students who both live and study in Scotland currently receive free tuition fees paid for by the Scottish Government, a policy which has been in place since 2008.

Despite increasing criticism of the policy, the SNP, who are set to lose seats in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, have promised to not make Scottish students pay tuition fees.

Calls to scrap the policy have been mounting in recent months as Scottish universities face increasing problems with funding.

Education Minister Jenny Gilruth has maintained that her party will “stand by” free tuition, despite the “deeply concerning” financial situation.

She added: “We need to look to the progress we have made in relation to widening access to children from our poorer communities. We have seen real and significant process in that.”

The funding crisis is coming increasingly into the spotlight in Scotland, especially as more universities announce negative cashflow.

Dundee University announced earlier in March that it will cut 632 jobs, representing about 20% of the university’s workforce, in a bid to address a £35 million deficit.

The Scottish Funding Council has approved a £22 million funding deal to support Dundee University, however Dundee’s Chair of Court Tricia Bey has warned that insolvency was a “real possibility” for the university.

The increasing financial strain on universities comes as a result of reduced international student recruitment due to Covid-19 and Brexit, as well as rising staff costs and inflationary pressures.

The UK and Welsh governments have raised tuition fees for home students in England and Wales to ease the burden of these pressures. However, this has not been the case in Scotland.

The SNP’s promise of free tuition has been met with criticism from political opponents, with Miles Briggs, the Education Spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, claiming that: “The SNP’s savage cuts have led to the dreadful position that our universities find themselves in”. He added that universities are now facing financial threats which question their “survival”.

Similarly, Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie has called for “a new financial model” for universities, which could take the form of hybrid funding models, increased international recruitment, or targeted tuition fees to ensure a balance is struck between funding and equality of opportunity.

Voters in Scotland seem more divided on the issue, with a recent survey by the Carnegie Trust finding that as many as 44% of Scots believe students should get free tuition.

While universities across the UK are taking steps to address financial instability, Scottish institutions remain under particular strain due to the SNP’s commitment to free tuition.

Questions therefore remain from critics over what alternative solutions can be found as the funding crisis deepens for universities in Scotland.