Meeting of the Parliament 04 October 2016
I welcome the opportunity to open this afternoon’s debate.
The people of Scotland gave a strong and unequivocal vote to remain in the European Union. I believe that that is a result of Scotland recognising the social, economic and cultural benefits of EU membership for individuals, businesses and communities. Those benefits include benefits for the staff and students who study and work at the universities and colleges across Scotland.
Parliament will be well familiar by now with the five key interests that the First Minister set out following the referendum outcome and which are relevant to today’s debate: democracy, economic prosperity, social protection, solidarity and influence. Given Scotland’s unequivocal support for remaining in the EU, the First Minister secured a mandate from the Scottish Parliament to explore options to protect Scotland’s relationship with the EU and to maintain membership of the single market and freedom of movement.
Since then, the Scottish ministers have engaged closely with our counterparts in the United Kingdom and across the EU to ensure that all options are kept on the table. We have established a standing council on Europe, led by the principal of the University of Glasgow, Professor Anton Muscatelli, to advise the Scottish Government on securing Scotland’s relationship with Europe, and I welcome the council’s prioritisation of universities and colleges as an early topic for consideration.
In the days immediately following the referendum, I personally made contact with most of our university principals, Universities Scotland and the National Union of Students Scotland to listen to their views. I have followed that up with further discussions with principals, staff and students during my visits to college and university campuses over the past few months. Indeed, I visited the University of Dundee this very morning. I add that I am grateful to our chief scientific adviser, Professor Sheila Rowan, for the role that she has been playing in reaching out to the sector in a number of ways. She was in Brussels only last week to meet key stakeholders.
I would like to highlight three issues that I believe are greatly affecting the sector: the public, funding and influence.
Everyone to whom I have spoken has raised the issue of the impact of the EU referendum on students and staff, and that reflects my own concerns about the free movement of staff and students across Europe, as well as the attractiveness of our universities and colleges to staff and students from the rest of Europe.
We have a world-class further and higher education system; indeed, only last month, Times Higher Education confirmed that Scotland has five universities in the global top 200. That quality, underpinned by freedom of movement, has attracted the brightest and the best students from across Europe to study here and to make Scotland their home, and that has acted as a catalyst, reinforcing the quality and the reputation of our sector and supporting Scotland’s influence as well as collaboration across Europe.
Latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency suggest that almost 21,000—or nearly 9 per cent—of our university students are from the rest of the EU. Students from across the EU and beyond add to the diversity of our communities and campuses, enrich the learning experience for all, and support local businesses and jobs. The Scottish Government greatly values their contribution, which is why it moved quickly after the referendum to reassure EU students that there has been no change to the current funding arrangements. In June, we confirmed that eligible EU students who are studying in Scotland, including those who start this year, will continue to benefit from free tuition for the remainder of their course.