Graduates should make financial contribution to studies, says think tank
Students graduating from Scottish universities should contribute towards the cost of their course, according to a think tank.
Reform Scotland also said students from EU countries should pay fees next year as the "survival'' of the higher education sector is at risk from the coronavirus crisis.
The graduate endowment fee was abolished in 2007, meaning Scottish students do not have to pay anything towards the cost of undergraduate tuition.
Fees are still charged to students from the rest of the UK and outside the EU.
A paper released by Reform Scotland said it is "fair'' that graduates should pay back part of their tuition once they are earning the average Scottish salary.
Director Chris Deerin said: "Coronavirus has had a devastating impact on many areas of Scottish life, particularly those which were already under pressure before the pandemic hit.
"There is no better example of this than the university sector. Over half of our universities were already in deficit before coronavirus, and increasingly reliant on fee-paying students from the rest of the UK and the rest of the world to stay afloat.
"We would all like to live in a world where 'free' university education works for the universities, the students and the taxpayer. But it's time to admit that it doesn't.
"Demand on the public purse is high and only going to rise - our politicians should have the courage and the foresight to challenge some old shibboleths in order to prepare Scotland for the challenges ahead.
"There needs to be a better balance between the individual graduate and taxpayers in contributing towards higher education.
"Graduates should pay back a proportion of their tuition fee once they start earning the average Scottish salary.
"This is fair because graduates on average earn more money throughout their lives than non-graduates, and it is also reasonable because those who never earn enough money to pay back their tuition will never have to do so.''
The paper says introducing fees for EU students next year would remove a cap on the number of Scottish students who can attend universities.
Titled "A Degree Of Fairness'', the paper says it would be "bizarre'' for the Scottish Government to continue paying EU students' fees after Brexit.
Mr Deerin added: "The levying of tuition fees has long been an intensely ideological and political issue in Scotland. It should be neither.
"This is about the survival of our university sector, including institutions renowned around the globe and essential to our economic future.
"To fail to redress the balance would be an act of national self-harm.''
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