It was pointed out that there is a need to wait four or five years for confirmed access figures but early indicators have been very poor. The government cherry-picked the Dearing Report and in 1997 having said in opposition that it had no intention of introducing tuition fees. The psychology of further and higher education being expensive was felt to be an important factor and that telling people they could have full exemption or a Saltire Award or any similar measure was not going to work. Higher education is a case of another public service which people want to pay for directly rather than being subjected to yet another indirect tax. The big issue of the Liberal Democrat s 1999 campaign was tuition fees, and there is definitely a mandate for change emerging from the elections.
Abolition is what the people of Scotland wanted.
It was recognised that this would require approximately 46 million a year, but this should not be viewed in isolation as there is 16 billion to play with. It was felt that the committee could change the direction of policy and move Scotland back onto the course of free education. Liberal Democrats would like to see concentration on quality in education as well as on quantity. It was felt that lifelong learning was necessary for economic reasons and a move away from the old idea of students as only young people would be beneficial. The rise in student numbers has not been supported with a rise in funding.