Anything to do with finances and education is a controversial topic; university cuts, university fees, school fees, etc. A main reason for this is, I feel, the emerging belief of the right to education. Everyone deserves a right to learn, and as with other basic rights, when money is involved complications ensue. This blog is not here to preach about whether one has the right to education, or whether how much money one has should factor in. It is merely to express my dismay with the recent price changes in fees, and one in particular.
My own university, Edinburgh University, has decided to raise its fees to the top price: £9,000 a year. With many other top universities doing the same, (Leeds, Oxford, Cambridge), it was clear that Edinburgh would have to raise their fees from their already low price (averagely 1,800 a year). However, there are two crucial differences with Edinburgh University raising their fees. Firstly, as a four year programme, this price raise would mean that students could be paying £36,000 for their degree. Other Scottish universities, Aberdeen for example, have also raised their prices but capped it at £27,000. This cap, therefore, makes it the same price as a three year degree in a top price university in England. As to why Edinburgh University have not done the same is unclear, but the consequences surely are; students will be paying a staggering and seemingly ridiculous amount for their degrees. The second crucial difference between the price change of Edinburgh University, and the others top price universities, is that, even with this raise, Scottish students will still be able to attend for free. Edinburgh has been dogged with rumours of anti-English policies, especially in the last couple of years. It has always denied any prejudice or difference, and so it is astounding therefore to hear now that English students will be paying £36,000 a year, and Scottish students will still pay nothing. This is not at all to say that Scottish students should pay, but rather to impress the huge difference between the two. Whether this will lead to a massive drop in applicants, or a massive uprise in rich prospective students moving to their second home in Scotland to avoid fees, it seems that Edinburgh University will be under attack for a while, and in my opinion, rightly so.
Evans
