Despite charging fees, England has seen a larger rise in the overall number of students and the share of those coming from poorer areas than Scotland.
The Scottish Government’s commitment to maintaining ‘free’ higher education – as in no tuition fees – is lauded by its supporters for a variety of worthy reasons. Some, like the First Minister, maintain that such education should be accessible to all, regardless of income and background and “based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay”. Fine words but do these claims actually stand up to scrutiny?
