Dear Commons Community,

The NY Times has an interesting story from across the pond on  a decision by Scotland to charge other Britons tuition.  When the United Kingdom decided last December to impose a steep increase in university tuition, Scotland flatly rejected the idea. Instead, it held firm to its long tradition of a virtually free university education but only for Scots.  Furthermore, under European Union law, Scotland cannot charge students from other European Union countries more than  it charges its own.  In sum, students from France, Denmark and Greece will be offered a free education in Scotland, even as those from England, Wales and Northern Ireland will have to pay as much as $56,000 for a four-year degree. A legal confrontation looms for the Scots in terms of this policy since universities receive some of their  funding from the central(UK) government.  On the one hand, I guess we should applaud the Scottish government for its commitment to a free higher education for its citizens but on the other hand,  question why it is tweaking its UK cousins where it hurts the most.

Cheerio!

Tony