POLICY A “RESOUNDING SUCCESS” FOR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SCOTS
Today marks 10 years since the Graduate Endowment Abolition Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament.
The SNP Government’s scrapping of Labour’s tuition fees has allowed 270,000 Scottish students to graduate free of charge since the policy was introduced a decade ago, figures from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) show.
Students in Scotland do not pay for tuition before, during or after their studies. By stark contrast, the UK Tory Government charges students in England £9,250 a year for attending university. The Welsh Labour Government charges students £9,000 a year in Wales.
Since the fees were scrapped in 2008, Scotland’s universities have gone from strength to strength – climbing up the international league tables, improving access for those from the most deprived communities and seeing more people apply to study.
Commenting, Kenneth Gibson MSP said:
“As we reflect on a decade of free university tuition in Scotland, it is clear this policy has been a resounding success, allowing 270,000 people the opportunity to gain a qualification free of charge.
“Scrapping of Labour’s unfair tuition fees has been transformational for many across Scotland and stands in stark contrast to the Tory approach south of the border or Labour in Wales, where people to pay tens of thousands of pounds to get their degree.
“Just this week, the SNP Government announced yet another significant investment in our universities and colleges, which will benefit from a record £1,800 million in funding for the coming year, thus helping achieve our aim of ensuring students from the 20% most deprived backgrounds represent 20% of university entrants by 2020.
“With more students applying thanks to the SNP Government’s unwavering commitment to free tuition, it’s clear that more and more people will graduate from our world-leading universities in the years to come.”
Scottish First Degree Qualifiers since 2007-08
Year Scottish Graduates
2007-08 22,545
2008-09 22,345
2009-10 22,415
2010-11 23,200
2011-12 24,375
2012-13 25,310
2013-14 26,920
2014-15 26,305
2015-16 26,665
2016-17* 24,453 full figures are not yet available for 2016/17 and 2017/18.
2017-18* 24,453 these numbers average the previous years in the series.
Total: 268,986
ENDS
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