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THE SNP Scottish government has announced £10 million in extra funding for the nation’s universities as deficits rocket.
The cash, to be delivered via the Scottish Funding Council, came just days after the University of Dundee announced plans to axe 632 jobs — 20 per cent of its workforce — in a bid to close a £35m financial black hole at the institution.
Holyrood’s Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth announced the £10 million support package “to assist universities such as Dundee with navigating immediate financial challenges. This is on top of the £15m of extra support previously announced for the sector in February.
“Both the Higher Education Minister and I have conveyed our deep concern at the level of job losses currently being discussed at the university.”
Ms Gilruth said that while the university is an autonomous institution, “it is our clear expectation that the university’s leadership works with us, and engages fully with staff and trade unions, to explore all options to protect jobs.
“Scotland’s universities play a pivotal role in the economy and wider society and they must be supported to thrive into the future.”
The announcement came after Ms Gilruth met UCU representatives at the University of Dundee on Friday.
According to Scotland UCU’s Mary Senior, the meeting left her “in no doubt of the scale of this challenge, and our opposition to the management plan for devastating cuts.
“This additional funding is another step in the right direction to save jobs, save courses and to save the university for the people of Dundee,” Ms Senior said.
Ms Gilruth told the BBC’s Sunday Show: “Our universities are facing an inordinate amount of challenge, but that’s not a unique situation to Scotland.
“If you look across the United Kingdom: Cardiff, Durham, Newcastle [are] all considering substantial cuts to their workforce as a result of inflationary pressures.”
Challenged on the sector’s reliance on foreign students’ tuition fees — whose numbers are falling — to fund free tuition, Ms Gilruth insisted: “We are not going to bring back tuition fees.”
