Northern Irish students are switching to an Irish passport to gain a free university education in Scotland, it has emerged.
The Scottish Government’s tuition fee policy was threatening to descend into farce after a Dundee student leader revealed the bizarre loophole is widely known about in the Province.
Iain Kennedy, president of Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA), explained a quirk of European Union (EU) law means Northern Irish students can use an Irish passport to avoid paying fees.
Mr Kennedy, who moved to Dundee from Northern Ireland to study, said he had recently raised the issue with university authorities when he grew concerned it could cause funding headaches.
The development complicates an already confusing system which allows EU citizens to study in Scotland for free, but charges other UK students up to £9,000 a year.
EU law stipulates EU students outside the UK must be treated as locals, meaning Scottish students and EU students pay no fees, while students from Wales, England and Northern Ireland pay the full sum.
Education Secretary Michael Russell blamed the confusion on the rise of tuition fees in England.
”We’re in this position because of a decision ” made south of the border on hiking fees south of the border,” he said. ”We decided in Scotland not to do that, to continue with the Scottish tradition of free education.
”Quite clearly we couldn’t pay for everybody coming into us, so we’ve allowed the universities to set their own fee levels for those coming in. The purpose of the regulations is to guarantee Scottish students free access.”
Labour MSP Jenny Marra said the knock-on impact of Northern Irish students avoiding fees could cause funding problems.
Dundee is a particularly popular choice for students from Northern Ireland, making up more than 5% of the city’s student population.
”The SNP has left Scottish universities reliant on non-Scottish students to pay the bills,” she said. ”With loopholes like this the funding settlement looks very precarious indeed.”
Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith predicted the news would cause ”anger” among students.
The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP said: ”The SNP has already discriminated against students from the rest of the UK because of its muddled thinking, and now they seem content to shift goalposts yet again.”
A spokesman from Universities Scotland said: ”Universities Scotland is taking advice on this issue, but based on the most recent statistics available there has not been a rise in applicants holding an Irish passport.”