Fresh university strike threats suggest it may be time to rethink SNP free tuition policy
Systemic problems with the way higher education institutions receive their funding are becoming increasingly obvious
The turmoil that beset Scottish higher education in 2025 shows no sign of abating this year, with four universities facing the prospect of strikes over proposed budget cuts and job losses.
University and College Union (UCU) members at Aberdeen, Stirling, Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde are being asked if they support industrial action. The union has said the move comes after management at the institutions refused to rule out compulsory redundancies.
The threat follows recent walkouts over similar disputes at the University of Edinburgh, the University of Dundee and the University of the Highlands and Islands.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said principals “need to listen to their staff and commit to ruling out compulsory redundancies before these disputes escalate into strikes resulting in disruption to students”.
But, as University of Edinburgh Principal Professor Sir Peter Mathieson wrote in The Scotsman’s sister title Scotland on Sunday as far back as April, there are “systemic” problems with the higher education funding model that are becoming increasingly obvious. He said: “Our system is broken and requires a radical re-wiring to survive.”
Funding to teach Scottish undergraduates had been “stagnant” for eight years, he said, leaving the sector over-reliant on increases in international student numbers - an “unstable model as geopolitics grow increasingly volatile and the UK’s attractiveness has declined”.
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This, combined with other factors such as cuts to research funding and rising energy costs, have left the sector “on its knees”, Sir Peter wrote.
In response to the latest threats of university strikes, the Scottish Government pointed to the impact of UK government immigration policies on international student numbers and increases in employers’ national insurance contributions.
These factors are outwith Scottish Government control - unlike the university funding model. Perhaps the time has come for a rethink of the SNP’s policy of “free tuition” for Scots in Scotland’s universities.
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