Free tuition stays on the table in Scotland
The Conservatives and Labour have both pledged to keep university tuition free for Scottish students ahead of the Holyrood elections, while Reform UK’s manifesto does not mention fees. Free tuition is the defining difference between Scottish higher education and the rest of the UK, and it is paid for by a cap on Scottish student places — which is the trade-off worth understanding. Student finance explained covers the four nations.
Glasgow staff strike for 24 hours over pay
Staff at the University of Glasgow held a 24-hour strike over pay, forming picket lines at the main gate. Single-day action is designed to cost a day’s teaching rather than a term’s, but it still removes seminars in the run-up to exams — and universities do not usually reschedule for one day.
Which Russell Group universities pay their lecturers least
A comparison of academic pay across the Russell Group finds some well-known institutions at the bottom. Pay matters to students indirectly: departments that pay below the market lose staff mid-year, and replacing a lecturer in February is how a module ends up taught by someone who did not design it.