Action urged over universities' fines

Education Correspondent

Tuesday 19 June 2012

THE Scottish Government has been urged to act after universities face fines as a result of a loophole allowing students from Northern Ireland to dodge tuition fees.

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Andrew Denholm Education Correspondent

Students from there were expected to pay up to £9000 a year to attend Scottish universities. However, if they take up their right to dual citizenship with the Irish Republic, they can apply as EU students and have their fees paid. This has an impact on universities because they can recruit as many fee-paying students as they like – but numbers of publicly-funded students are tightly controlled.

As The Herald revealed yesterday, if universities over-recruit publicly-funded students they face fines of up £1820 per student, administered by the Scottish Funding Council.Liz Smith, education spokesman for the Scottish Conservative Party, called on Education Secretary Michael Russell to act, saying: "The problem could have considerable implications for universities and students as well as the taxpayer."Earlier this month, Edinburgh University said about 30% of its 1160 applicants from Northern Ireland had declared joint Irish nationality while Glasgow University said it had had 25%. Dundee reported a 20% increase and Aberdeen 16%.A SFC spokesman said "mitigating circumstances" would be considered before any penalties were applied.

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Action urged over universities' fines

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