Students at the University of the West of Scotland have consistently rejected the idea of tuition fees mentioned by Craig Mahoney, principal and vice-chancellor of UWS (“Talk of fees is tricky in Scotland, says principal”, News, 19 February). We firmly believe that tuition fees are wrong, both morally and economically, and our students are becoming angry and confused by our principal’s continued calls for their introduction.
The argument that students will become more focused in their education if fees are introduced is one that we believe is false. Instead, this will reinforce barriers and prevent people from less privileged backgrounds from studying in higher education.
In the rest of the UK, there has been evidence to suggest that the current fee scheme is more expensive to operate than the previous system. This creates a black hole of funding, and it will begin a spiral into ever increasing costs to students – pricing the poorest out of education.
The Students’ Association and its members believe that education is a right, not a privilege, and that students and staff at UWS are losing confidence in the principal over this matter. We would encourage Mahoney to visit the tuition fees monument at Heriot-Watt University and reflect on the words engraved upon it.
Jack Douglas
Student president
The Students’ Association, University of the West of Scotland