APPLICANTS to Scottish universities from England are increasingly more likely to be offered a place than those from Scotland, new figures show.
An official report by university admissions service Ucas found offer rates to Scottish applicants fell to 60 per cent in 2016 while those to students from the rest of the UK (rUK) rose to 68.5 per cent - the highest figure on record.
Ucas said applicants from England and Northern Ireland were now “15 per cent more likely” to receive an offer from a Scottish university than those from Scotland.
The change has happened because Scottish universities now charge fees to rUK students of more than £9,000 annually and the numbers they can recruit are not capped.
In contrast, Scottish students do not pay fees, but the numbers are tightly controlled by the Scottish Government creating a squeeze on places when applications increase faster than places.
However, no rUK student can take the place of a Scottish student and Scottish graduates have significantly lower levels of debt.
Despite the decline in offer rates, the number of Scots accepted by Scottish universities reached record levels with 35,700 securing a place through Ucas - an increase of 2.6 per cent.
There was also positive news on widening access with entry rates for Scottish 18-year-olds from the most deprived areas 51 per cent higher than in 2006.
Liz Smith, education spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservative Party, attacked the Scottish Government’s free tuition policy.
She said: “The SNP has been warned its discriminatory higher education funding policy would lead to this, but they have so far failed to take any action.”
Iain Gray, education spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party, added: “While universities have expanded their offer to students from elsewhere in the UK, they have not been able to do so for Scottish students because the Scottish Government has squeezed the funding available.”
“Labour supports free tuition, but if we are to widen access to universities for more Scottish students then the Scottish Government has to stop cutting university budgets.”
Vonnie Sandlan, president of student body NUS Scotland, welcomed the improved figures on widening access, but also questioned the decline in offer rates.
She said: “We’re making progress on increasing access for students from our most disadvantaged backgrounds, but the persistent gap between demand for a university place and the places on offer requires the necessary investment.”
Alastair Sim, director of Universities Scotland, said capped places, coupled with high demand, “inevitably” meant pressure on places.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We remain firmly committed to ensuring tuition is free for Scottish and EU-domiciled undergraduate.
“Over 120,000 students are supported in this way every year and this investment helps ensure average student loan debt in Scotland is the lowest in the UK.”
On improvements in widening access she added: “These figures record the highest ever entry rate to our universities for 18-year-olds from Scotland’s most deprived areas.
“This is very welcome news, but we are committed to making further and faster progress on fairer access.”
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