Discrimination against ENGLISH students

Clearly, then, the UK government has no interest in rectifying the situation.
That is not the fault of the Scottish government and is not a reason to rail against 'discrimination' or to claim that 'Scotland is getting away with this'.

FarNorth, I already did. I wrote a long letter to Mrs May and I got a routine acknowledgement letter from one of her minions. No surprise there then.

'Scotland's budget deficit is the largest in the EU and double the rate of the UK as a whole' in case you missed that point Skullduggery.

It's not discrimination. It's just the pigeons coming home to roost...finally!
The Scots voted for free tuition fees and the English (Tory) voters wanted tax cuts and Brexit.

Maybe you should make your points to the UK government and suggest that they invest more in higher education of English students.

When Scottish students leave university they have no debt. When English students leave university they have a debt of approx. £50thousand! This is discrimination of English students which is against UK and EU law. We are all in the UK and we are all in the EU. Also if EU students come to English universities their government pays a large part of their tuition fees. When our English students reach the age when they want a family, a house and a car they will also be in a job that pays more than £21 thousand per year, so they will have to start paying the tuition/maintenance fees back. They will have to make serious decisions on whether they can afford to even get married never mind raise a family, they will be paying the debt back until they retire. Scottish students can have it all. Saying that the government chose to invest in education not roads is not the answer...there are separate budgets for different projects. If we do not invest in our brightest they will seek employment overseas and UK will be the losers in the end.

It's true there are a lot of unhappy folk in Scots academia. Higher ed is being starved of money ESP for research.

Personally, I think right back at the start, funding in the U.K. should have been provided by a graduate tax, say of 1%. It would be much less painful than the stinging 9% some graduates have to pay on their loans.

Yes, that's true. But the only ones to blame are Scotland's leaders, and those who voted for them and this policy.

They may not wish to move to move south of the border. Some, like one of my sons, went to university as a mature student and had commitments here.

English students could just as easily avail themselves (for now!!) of places at EU universities with lower/no fees instead of paying Scotland's RUK fees.

Scottish students are not 'being denied education' or access to the career they want.

They might just have to take a University place south of the border and avail themselves of a student loan like the rest of the country, that's all.

As your link says, no one is going to dare to change the Scottish commitment to free University places for all for the lucky few that are accepted.

Yes, Scots students pay the same as others in English universities.

This article explains the problem clearly. Places available to Scots/EU students are limited. Places available to RUK/overseas students are unlimited. I really don't see what is difficult to understand about that.

www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/opinion/jenny-hjul/273864/no-fees-no-win-students/

There may be free places, in some courses, and be over-subscribed in others- perhaps.

Scottish students do have to pay to go to Uni in England, don't they?

And those surplus places are being offered to fee-paying students from outside Scotland, yet those same fee-paying students are being "discriminated against". ?? ??

So Scots would-be students are "denied an education" while also Scots universities "have to fill their places from elsewhere" because they have too many places going spare.

I'm too.

Read my link, Ana. A candidate may have all and more of the required qualifications but if all places are full, he or she will not be offered a place. The numbers of places for Scots/EU students are capped. The number of places for RUK/overseas students are not capped,

It's also untrue to say that if someone has the correct qualifications they will get a place. Medicine, for instance, is highly competitive and many, many people do not get a place despite having excellent qualifications,

Hang on....

I'm confused!

Proportionally, for the size of its population, Scotland has more universities than the rest of the UK, so they have to fill their places from elsewhere. it does seem a bit wacky, economically that EU law makes them discriminate against fee-paying students.

Scratches head in puzzlement ? and agrees that it's no wonder the Scottish government's deficit is so large.

What happened to rational thinking along the way?

No one is denied access to a career they desire anywhere in the UK. Anyone can apply for a University place and if their qualifications meet the standard they'll be accepted.

If they don't live in Scotland, they have the option of taking out a student loan repayable when they're earning over a certain amount.

I'm not speaking of monetary costs. I mean the cost of not going to university and being denied access to a career you desire. Having to settle for second best. Being denied an education.

I agree, Scotland isn't in a good place economically! I'm not Scottish, btw, I'm an incomer.

Yes, but at what cost SueDonim?

Free University education and free prescriptions for all and increased spending have led to a massive budget deficit. Nichola Sturgeon has done her country no favours.

Ana what I meant was that would-be Scots students 'pay' in that they are unable to access places which are given to English/overseas students. It's pretty galling for young Scots to be denied a place at a university yet see others walk into a university they would like to attend. www.scotsman.com/news/education/scots-students-denied-university-places-offered-to-rest-of-uk-1-2475592

It's also the case that Scotland has chosen different priorities than England. The govt here has chosen to fund higher education rather than infrastructure, for instance. I am astounded at the road systems down south, while I live approx 70 miles from the nearest motorway even though I live near a large city. That's what devolution has given Scotland - the ability to make different choices.

Scottish Universities have to offer free tuition on an equal basis to students from other EU countries so as to have free tuition for Scottish students. They do not have to offer it to students from other Uk countries. If they did, their education bill would be even higher than it is and the deficit would rise higher. International non-EU students pay more then UK ones.

If you want free tuition at English universities too, you would have to put up with giving it to EU students as well.

"For home/EU students the maximum fee chargeable by an English university is £9,000 in 2016. Students from non-EU countries pay a different scale of fees.

The standard tuition fee for an undergraduate degree course in Scotland in 2016 is £1,820.

The Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) will pay these fees if you meet eligibility conditions; for example, if you are a Scottish resident and/or a qualifying non-UK EC student.
If you come from the Rest of the UK (RUK), universities in Scotland will charge you variable fees up to a maximum of £9,000 just like England and Wales
^Undergraduate Scholarships and Bursaries are available for eligible students from England, Northern Ireland and Wales to help offset these higher fees.^"
www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/

Scottish students do not get free tuition at English universities, see www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1413853 and don't get it back from Scottish authorities. They have to pay up and get a student loan.

I don't understand the point about Scottish/EU students 'paying for it by having fewer places available to them'. They're not paying at all...!

But the total population is not as relevant as the proportion of students who qualify to go on to enrol in a university. That is probably about the same in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.