Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 52
52
Accepted in Part
Public sector funding for higher education in Scotland has reduced by 12% in real terms...
Recommendation
Public sector funding for higher education in Scotland has reduced by 12% in real terms in seven years. In addition, despite the policy of free tuition for Scottish students, and a cap on Scottish student numbers, only 90% of the costs of teaching Scottish students at Scottish universities are covered by the Scottish Government. We recognise that this leaves a 10% gap in funding that must be filled via alternative means. The main way Scottish universities fill this gap is through international students, who account for more than 16% of all income across Scottish universities, a large proportion of which comes from Chinese students. As we have seen with large fluctuations in the number of Indian students studying in the UK and the implications of the pandemic, international student numbers are potentially volatile and can be influenced by a number of internal and external factors. The Scottish Government and Scottish universities should work with the UK Government and universities in other parts of the UK to seek out examples of best practice in diversifying income streams away from potentially volatile international student fees. In doing so great care should be taken to ensure that core focus on education and research is not lost in favour of commercialised corporate ventures. EU student fees Pre- and post-Brexit policies on EU student fees
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the importance of ensuring diversified student recruitment for sustainable growth, outlining its International Education Strategy and Graduate Route as measures to attract international students, and states it will work with DAs on this aim, but does not explicitly commit to a joint effort to seek best practices in diversifying away from international student fees as the primary gap-filler.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted in Part
International students bring fresh ideas and new perspectives and in doing so help challenge thinking, making for an enriching learning environment for all students, including those from the UK. For our young people, this cultural exchange helps build life-long friendships, as well as laying the foundation for future networks, and important business, political and diplomatic bridges. International students also help stimulate demand for courses, add to the UK’s impressive research capacity and have the potential to contribute invaluably to the UK skills base—particularly in key subjects where they benefit the UK economy by filling a number of sectoral skills shortages, for example engineering, technology, health and social work. Universities are aware of the possible risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or from a single nation. Ensuring student recruitment is from a diversified base, in order for growth to remain sustainable in the longer term remains a key strategic priority—our commitment to this is set out clearly in the International Education Strategy. As part of this strategy, which was launched last year and will be updated this year, we also announced the Graduate Route, among several other measures to attract new international students. The UK Government’s International Education Strategy and recent update make clear that the internationalisation of our higher education sector cannot come at any cost – universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risk. We will look to work closely with colleagues in Scotland and the other DA’s to continue to work on this aim.
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