THE big increase in the amount of money donated to Scotland’s universities by former students, philanthropists and businesses is good news. It will mean millions more for some universities at a time when funding for the sector is tight. It is also a reward for many institutions that have been learning how to tap into their alumni and other potential sources of income.
But should we feel comfortable about it? It is routine for students in America to donate money to their alma mater, but in the UK our higher education system has been based on the principle it should be funded from the public purse. Universities are right to ask students and others if they would like to help financially – and the money can be used to fund scholarships or research – but the reality is it can only ever be an add-on to the public funding principle and should never replace government funding.
Another obvious issue with encouraging donations is that some universities will always find it easier than others. Leading universities such as St Andrews and Edinburgh have all embarked on major international campaigns to raise money through donations, but other universities will find it much harder and they should not have to suffer as a result.
The boost in philanthropic giving also does nothing to answer the bigger questions about university funding. Only a few weeks ago, Colin Campbell, the head of policy and planning at Stirling, said the funding squeeze facing Scottish universities threatens their international status and their ability to recruit more students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Universities have reacted to the crisis by cutting where they can – and some have responded with their efforts to raise more money through donations. But the bottom line for universities is that the real cost of teaching students is not being met through government funding and should be. Philanthropy can only ever be an added bonus.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel