Free tuition remains a popular policy with cross-party support.  It needs to be properly funded by the politicians who are happy to take credit for the policy.

The Herald’s focus on Scotland’s universities is hugely welcome.  It comes after a decade of underinvestment in the sector with funding for teaching per student falling by 39% in real terms over the past 10 years.

That funding, broadly called the teaching grant, covers much more than just teaching, and funds services that support students’ mental health and wellbeing, ensures that lecturers and tutors can provide one-to-one sessions, and supports the essential study skills vital to widening access.

We know from repeated polling that free tuition remains a popular policy.  Politicians know this too.  Less than three months ago, during the general election, Labour, the SNP and the Conservatives all confirmed their support for the policy in their Scottish manifestos for the 4 July elections. 

But, if politicians want to take the credit for free tuition, then they need to properly fund the policy.

Universities cannot withstand the continual salami slicing of its funding.   Cuts mean staff losing jobs and students’ education being harmed.

In recent months we’ve seen voluntary severance schemes in universities across the country; including Glasgow Caledonian University, the University of Aberdeen, Heriot-Watt University, the University of the Highlands and Islands, Queen Margaret University, and Robert Gordon University. 

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That’s decent jobs being lost in institutions in all four corners of the country and a hollowing out of the educational offer.   Job cuts lead to a dilution of the student experience, with a reduction in the teaching and support offered to students, and a diminution of the breadth of research carried out by staff.  For those staff who remain, already excessive workloads become even more unsafe.

Increasing student staff ratios also impact the ability to support students going to university from backgrounds where higher education hasn’t been the norm.   Widening access is a priority both for the Scottish Government and universities; and ensuring staff have the time and capacity to support students is critical to its success.  We know that these students need more one-to-one academic and pastoral support to access, progress and complete their studies.  But if university jobs are being lost, and a lack of funding is leading to staff numbers being cut, then that’s a recipe for failure.

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Ministers will point out that public funding isn’t the only funding source open to the sector.  Universities have been adept at recruiting students internationally, despite the previous UK Government's hostile environment and policies.  While the international nature of universities, and the benefit international students bring educationally, socially and culturally is well rehearsed, relying on international students as a long-term funding solution is not a viable option.  Overreliance on international student fee income puts at risk the sustainability and security of funding.  Universities competing against one another globally for international students simply moves the higher education sector further towards an increasingly competitive, marketised system that doesn't reflect the purpose and value of education, nor do anything for our universities long term.  Its risky too, given the volatile world in which we live.

UCU has been forced to take industrial action in recent years as a result of diminishing pay and working conditions for our members, including year-on-year below inflation pay in addition to increasing workloads, the widespread use of casualised, precarious contracts, and gender, race and disability pay gaps.  At root, each of these disputes has a common thread of the lack of resources and funding coming to the higher education sector.

The University and College Union in Scotland will continue to fight against job cuts and for fair work, and for university teaching, student support and research to be properly funded.  However, after a decade of underinvestment, compounded, again this year, by cuts, we also need to see real investment in Scotland’s universities and for teaching to be fully funded.

There’s nothing wrong with free tuition as a policy.  We unequivocally support it, and we know from UCU members working in England all too well the impact on students of being forced to amass debts of around £45,000.  What is problematic, is for the policy of free tuition to be knowingly and deliberately underfunded.  The next time there’s a manifesto commitment, or a politician declares their heartfelt commitment to free tuition, we’ll be demanding that, as well as taking the political credit for the policy, they also commit to actually paying for it and making right a decade of underinvestment in higher education that has cost both students and staff dearly.

Mary Senior, Scotland official, UCU.  The University and College Union Scotland is the largest trade union in the higher education sector in Scotland representing 9,000 members in Scotland’s universities including academic staff and professional support staff.