Scotland’s “ancient universities” could be at risk of plunging into a financial hole like Dundee University if their funding model doesn’t change, the shadow Scottish Secretary has warned.
Andrew Bowie hit out at the SNP Scottish Government following an intervention by Sir Anton Muscatelli, Scotland’s longest-serving university principal.
Sir Anton is retiring after 16 years as principal and vice-chancellor of Glasgow University, and said universities will be forced to change the courses they offer and the research they participate in, if they are to remain sustainable.
Mr Bowie, the Scottish Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire, says Scottish Government funding for universities and colleges has been cut by more than a fifth since 2019.
He has met bosses at each of Scotland’s “ancient” institutions – Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh and St Andrews universities — as shadow Scottish secretary.
He supports the establishment of a commission on future funding models, to ward off the prospect of a Dundee-like financial crisis.
The university is facing a £35m black hole and is still considering compulsory redundancies and structural changes, despite a £40m bailout over the next three years.
Mr Bowie said: “The current model caps the number of Scottish students and means thousands of domestic students and apprentices are turned away each year.
“Universities have become hugely reliant on international student fees to plug the gap created by the SNP’s 22% funding cut per student since 2019.
“Scotland’s universities and colleges do so much within that tight envelope.
“But reality is beginning to bite, and they all say action is needed — that things cannot go on as they are.
“A wide-ranging debate with serious actionable points is required, or else we might see more Dundee University levels of crisis, and possibly closures, in our world-leading higher education sector.
“As a graduate of one of Scotland’s four ancient universities, I am so proud of what they achieve. Let’s make sure they can continue to do so for generations to come.”
