Most Scots universities to suffer real-terms teaching budget cuts, says uni body

The majority of Scotland’s universities will see their teaching budget cut in real terms this year, a higher education body has claimed.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) announced its teaching allocations for higher education institutions on Thursday, which amount to £727 million for the 2025-26 academic year.

Glasgow Caledonian University and the Open University saw the highest budget increases with 4.2% and 3.8% in cash terms respectively.

The University of the West of Scotland, however, will see its teaching funding reduce by 0.9%.

Universities Scotland accused the Government of a “decade-long pattern of structural under-funding” after the allocations were announced.

Its interim convener, Sir Paul Grice, said: “The amount invested in each Scottish student next year will increase in cash terms and we were clear to the Government and funding council that was our priority, so we do welcome that decision.

“However, the funding council’s indicative allocations confirm that most institutions will see a real-terms cut to their teaching funding.

“Taking the long-term view, next year’s cash increase doesn’t fundamentally change the fact that the gap between the cost of teaching and the investment in each Scottish student remains unacceptably high.

“The reality is that the level of additional investment made by the Scottish Government does not give the sector the financial support we asked for at a time when it has never been more necessary.”

He added: “Universities are facing challenging headwinds on multiple fronts, but we need to be straight-forward about the extent to which the decade-long pattern of structural under-funding of Scottish undergraduates and research has eroded universities’ financial resilience.

“This must be addressed to enable the sector to tackle the collective challenges we face.”

SFC chief executive Francesca Osowska said: “We recognise that universities are operating in a difficult financial environment with pressures across the full range of funding streams that drive our institutions.

“Today’s funding announcement will enable them to increase investment in each individual learner, protecting the high-quality of teaching for which our universities are renowned, while also securing Scotland’s position in delivering world-leading research and supporting new discoveries through innovation.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.