Students slam warning in Lamont anniversary speech

STUDENTS have slammed Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont after she warned that publicly-funded higher education was “not viable” without slashing standards.

In the speech, made yesterday to mark her first anniversary as party leader, Ms Lamont called for “a long-term solution” to higher education funding in Scotland.

But student leaders said the policy would prevent people from the poorest backgrounds from going to university.

Robin Parker, president of the Scottish branch of the National Union of Students, said: “Tuition fees are not the way to help, and in fact would make things worse.

“It’s incredibly frustrating that at a time when the Scottish Government is proposing cuts to colleges of £34.6 million for next year, yet again the focus is on how we fund universities.

“With over £300m of additional money coming to Scotland following Westminster’s autumn statement, this should not be about playing colleges off against universities.”