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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Call for graduate payment rethink | Call for graduate payment rethink |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| An academic has called for a fresh look at the contribution graduates make towards the cost of higher education. | |
| Dr Andrew Cubie, head of the 1999 probe which led to the abolition of upfront tuition fees in Scotland, said the issue should be discussed. | |
| He asked if it was "socially just" for those who benefit most from higher education to receive it free. | |
| But the government said access to education should be based on "ability to learn not ability to pay". | |
| Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "I agree that as a government and country we now have to embark on a future thinking exercise about the position of our universities going in to the next decade. | |
| "However, this government believes that access to education should be based on ability to learn not ability to pay. | |
| I think we have to look again at the ways in which that contribution might be made Dr Andrew Cubie | I think we have to look again at the ways in which that contribution might be made Dr Andrew Cubie |
| "That's why we are scrapping the unfair and inefficient graduate endowment fee and putting more money into student support." | |
| Dr Cubie, who chairs the court at Napier University in Edinburgh, stressed he was not calling for a graduate tax. | |
| His intervention came as university principals prepared to hold talks with the education secretary on the Scottish budget, which they said would leave them short of cash. | His intervention came as university principals prepared to hold talks with the education secretary on the Scottish budget, which they said would leave them short of cash. |
| Dr Cubie told BBC Scotland: "In a society which is still not able to allow those who are in primary and secondary education to reach their full potential, is it socially acceptable that those who have the advantage of getting tertiary education, with all the ensuing benefits, for free? | Dr Cubie told BBC Scotland: "In a society which is still not able to allow those who are in primary and secondary education to reach their full potential, is it socially acceptable that those who have the advantage of getting tertiary education, with all the ensuing benefits, for free? |
| "I think if you look around the world there are many countries which seek a contribution from graduates in one way or another. | "I think if you look around the world there are many countries which seek a contribution from graduates in one way or another. |
| "After all, the graduate endowment anticipated, and did indeed, bring about a contribution from graduates for a particular purpose - to assist later students out of disadvantage. | "After all, the graduate endowment anticipated, and did indeed, bring about a contribution from graduates for a particular purpose - to assist later students out of disadvantage. |
| "The principle, if you like, was accepted at that stage of a graduate contribution. I think we have to look again at the ways in which that contribution might be made." | "The principle, if you like, was accepted at that stage of a graduate contribution. I think we have to look again at the ways in which that contribution might be made." |
| Dr Cubie's report into education formed a major part of higher education policy in the first Scottish Executive. | Dr Cubie's report into education formed a major part of higher education policy in the first Scottish Executive. |
| It recommended that students repay £3,000 after graduation but only when they were earning £25,000. | It recommended that students repay £3,000 after graduation but only when they were earning £25,000. |
| In 2001, the Labour-Liberal Democrats coalition scrapped upfront tuition fees and said graduates would contribute £2,000 to a fund for new hardship grants, starting repayments when they earned £10,000 or more. | In 2001, the Labour-Liberal Democrats coalition scrapped upfront tuition fees and said graduates would contribute £2,000 to a fund for new hardship grants, starting repayments when they earned £10,000 or more. |