Legal challenge to Scots uni fees

21 August 2011 Last updated at 06:42 ET

The Scottish government said that in an ideal world no student would pay fees

A leading human rights lawyer is planning a legal challenge to Scotland’s university funding system.

Phil Shiner said the policy breaches the European Convention on Human Rights by charging students from England to study north of the border.

Scottish students studying at home do not pay tuition fees while some 22,000 English students in Scotland do.

The Scottish government has defended its policy and says it is acting within the law.

Mr Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, is already representing two students who have been given a full judicial review to challenge the increase in tuition fees at England’s universities.

The legal team acting for Callum Hurley, from Peterborough, and Katy Moore, from London, are expected to argue that poorer students and those from ethnic minorities could be discriminated against by the change.

Mr Shiner has now turned his attention to the fees structure in Scotland where English students pay between £1,820 and £2,895 per year, which will increase to up to £9,000 from next year.

He believes that ministers in Scotland have “misinterpreted the law”.

Mr Shiner said the Scottish fees system contravened the Euopean Convention on Human Rights and could also be in breach of Britain’s Equality Act.

But a spokeswoman for the Scottish government said: “We are clear that the proposals set out are lawful.

“Tuition fee arrangements are based on “ordinary domicile” not nationality.”

She added: “In an ideal world, no students would pay fees. Our main priority has to be to protect opportunities for Scottish students to study at Scottish institutions by maintaining free education north of the border.

“With the UK government introducing tuition fees south of the border of up to £9,000 per annum, Scottish students studying in England will continue to receive financial support in the form of bursaries and loans.”

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