Scottish university leaders have warned of “deepening pain” from the latest Holyrood funding cuts, which are based on an “incorrect assumption” that all institutions can plug the gap with international revenue, when the reality is one of “concerning headwinds” on overseas recruitment.
The Scottish government’s 2024-25 budget includes what amounted to a cut of £48.5 million, or 6 per cent, to higher education resource funding – covering the teaching of Scottish-domiciled students – compared with the previous budget.
However, given that the Scottish government had already made in-year cuts of £20 million for 2023-24, the reduction was £19.6 million, or 1.7 per cent, against that revised baseline.
Public funding per Scottish student has been shrinking consistently in real terms since 2014-15, now reaching a cumulative 39 per cent fall since then, according to estimates from Universities Scotland.
