We are all former rectors of Edinburgh University. The position of rector at Scottish universities is a unique historic tradition, which was formalised in legislation in 1858.

The rector is democratically elected by the students at Glasgow, Aberdeen, St Andrews and Dundee universities and by the students and staff at Edinburgh University. With the exception of Dundee the rector chairs the University Court.

The rector is part of the Scottish academic tradition and part of our democracy, which should be preserved.

We are extremely concerned that the Scottish Government in its proposed legislation on university governance is seeking to abolish the right of rectors to chair university courts and to downgrade the position of the rector to one a university can choose to continue or not. The position of rector was introduced to bring democracy and transparency to the governance of universities and it has managed to do this successfully for many years.

We feel that the proposals in the Scottish Government’s Bill takes away an ancient democratic right, unique to Scotland and seeks to replace it with a system where the chair of the university’s highest governing body will be someone pre approved and vetted by a government process.

We would urge the Scottish Government to look again at the model which works in the ancient universities and to consider that model across the higher education sector.

Jonathon WG Wills,

David Steel,

Archie Macpherson,

Muriel Gray,

Donnie Munro,

Malcolm Macleod,

John Mark Colquhoun,

Sir Tam Dalyell,

The Rector's Office,

Old College, The University of Edinburgh,

Edinburgh.