Endowment fees abolished

Students who are currently at university in Scotland are likely to be delighted to hear the endowment fee has been scrapped by the Scottish Government.

The endowment fee of £2,289 is usually paid back by graduates from Scottish universities after they have left higher education, but under the new laws this will no longer be the case.

The charge will not be paid as members of the Scottish Parliament voted to implement the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill, which also relinquishes the financial charge from graduates who left universities in the country on or after 1 April 2007.

Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop explained why the fee had been removed, stating that education should be based on the 'ability to learn.'

'We believe debt and the fear of debt, can be a real deterrent and can actually prevent some young people going to university,' she said.

However, students in other UK universities can still expect to pay a potential £3,000 in top-up fees for every year on an undergraduate course.