Sai Shraddha S. Viswanathan: ‘Scotland’s students are struggling already and can’t afford more cuts’

Responding to the manifesto released by the Scottish Greens today, an NUS Scotland spokesperson said: 

NUS Scotland President Ellie Gomersall: ‘Scotland cannot hope to eliminate poverty and inequality without the contribution of colleges’

NUS Scotland President Ellie Gomersall challenges John Swinney to reverse college cuts and invest in education

After the Scottish Government published its draft budget statement for 2024/25, NUS Scotland has welcomed the recent increase in student finance for HE students - but warned the continued underfunding of the sector is having dire consequences.

NUS Scotland is pleased that the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government for the next year will benefits students who use the train to get to class and who rent in the private rental sector, but urges the government to go further in increasing the rights of students in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and by increasing student financial support for all.

We believe that politics should be accessible to everyone, but unless you are a politician, it can be really hard to keep up with all the different political events. Politics Explained is NUS Scotland's series making simple what is (sometimes intentionally) difficult to understand in Scottish politics. 

So, what is the Scottish Government's Programme for Government?

Scotland’s students should be at the heart of designing a new funding model for higher and further education says NUS Scotland President, Ellie Gomersall.

UPDATE: We have since received a response from Scottish Labour and we are pleased to confirm that they are still committed to maintaining free tuition in Scotland.

NUS Scotland President, Ellie Gomersall, has called on the Scottish Labour Education team to retain free tuition in Scotland after Labour leader Keir Starmer announced this week plans to backtrack on the commitment to abolish tuition fees.

Read the full letter below: