The First Minister has admitted than his plans to fund Universities in Scotland depends on relying on students from the rest of the UK paying more, and the taxpayers picking up the tab whatever the cost, according to the Scottish Consevatives.
At the recent Scotsman Leaders’ Debate, Alex Salmond said: “We will do whatever it takes to maintain free education”.
He also claimed that “If there was no £9,000 fees in England, there would be no [funding] gap.”
And a further discrepency in the SNP has sums has now emerged: SNP policy is dependent upon students from the rest of the UK paying more to study in Scotland. But in an independent Scotland, that would be illegal.
Liz Smith, Scottish Conservative Education Spokesperson, said the SNP case was "fatally flawed":
"Firstly, there was a funding gap with universities south of the border before higher fees were introduced.
“Secondly, in an independent Scotland, students from the rest of the UK would be EU students and would have to get the same deal as Scottish students, so under the SNP plans the income stream would dry up and the funding gap would grow.
“Thirdly, if fees are such a deterrent, then fewer students from the rest of the UK will come to Scotland – and the funding gap will grow. Alex Salmond cannot argue on the one hand that cost is a deterrent to Scots studying here – then claim it is not a deterrent to students from other parts of the United Kingdom coming here. He cannot have it both ways.
“Finally, Alex Salmond is telling the taxpayer in Scotland that they will foot the bill, ‘whatever it takes’. That means he is content for the taxes of those not going to University to pay all the costs of those who do. The fact that so many universities south of the border want fees at the higher end proves just how much extra money is needed to be competitive. It also means that all these universities will have to commit to much larger bursary support than is currently the case.
“Alex Salmond needs to wake up and face the facts. The black hole in his sums is growing, and his solutions only make it worse. His fantasy economics have been found out.”
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Meanwhile, Derek Brownlee, Scottish Conservative Finance Spokesperson, commented on yesterday's unemployment figures, saying: “A further fall in unemployment will always be welcomed but the rate is still too high, and politicians at all levels need to do all we can to help create new jobs. “That’s why at the last budget Scottish Conservatives secured help for businesses to take on new staff and we also delivered a £16m boost for housing – these two measures alone will create over 10,000 jobs. These are common sense measures to help grow our economy. “Scotland has relied too heavily on public sector employment in the past and it is time to focus on helping entrepreneurs build new businesses, and on supporting existing small businesses. “That’s why we have pledged to create a £154m Scottish Business Start Up Fund to support access to enterprise education, vocational training, and to provide grants and loans to assist in the creation of new businesses. We also want 25 per cent of local and national Government contracts to be awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises. This is real help to grow Scotland’s economy. “Every voter in every seat in every region of Scotland can vote for these common sense policies on 5 May.”Related posts: