Nicola Sturgeon has defended the SNP’s controversial plan to seize autonomy from Scotland’s universities – despite mounting pressure from the academic sector itself.
Legal advice obtained by Universities Scotland has revealed the Scottish Government proposals pose a “significant risk” to funding.
It follows a series of submissions from the country’s best universities warning that they could lose their charitable status, having a “dramatic and harmful” impact on finances and threatening their very solvency.
Today, at First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson asked why the Higher Education Governance Bill was being pushed through by the SNP when it was “hated” by universities.
Instead, Ms Sturgeon pointed to a recent league table which revealed that five of Scotland’s universities are in the world’s top 200.
But all five of those institutions have slammed the plans, which experts have said could wipe hundreds of millions off higher education finances.
Among those, Glasgow University said it would have “a dramatic and harmful effect on universities’ financial management”; St Andrews stated it “can only damage the academic reputation of the HE sector in Scotland”; and Aberdeen added that the loss of that status “would have major and far-reaching consequences for the future sustainability of the university”.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:
“The reputation of Scotland’s universities has been founded on their academic independence – and their sustainable funding depends on their charitable status.
“This bill – at a stroke – threatens to demolish both of those foundations.
“Academics have described this as political interference, suppression of critical thought, meddling and devastating.
“Yet still the First Minister stands by the SNP’s plan to take autonomy away from our world-class universities and into the hands of Scottish Government ministers.
“She acknowledged we have five universities in the world’s top 200 – and every one of those has criticised this damaging plan.
“The bill is a mess and the universities hate it.
“There has been no logical explanation for this plan whatsoever – it seems it can only do harm.
“That is why Nicola Sturgeon must drop it now.”