SCOTTISH students will have to pay tuition fees if the SNP are to charge EU students for university education.
A European law states that countries have to apply the same university charging system to home-based students as to students from other EU Countries. Free education for EU students currently costs the Scottish Government £75million a year.
If the reported plans are to go ahead, Scottish students would be able to apply for grants to help fund their studies and act as a reimbursement of their tuition fees.
The SNP have faced criticism from Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith MSP. She said: “This is further evidence of the complete shambles that is the SNP’s student fees policy.”
During the 2011 Scottish Election Campaign the SNP said that “the rocks would melt in the sun” before Scotland would consider charging fees for Scottish universities.
This most recent report follows the confirmation from the Scottish Government two weeks ago that students that hold Irish passports could be exempt from tuition fees.
Smith said: “This whole policy is an utter shambles and is deeply damaging to the image of Scottish Universities who have got caught up in this SNP muddle.”
