Scottish students renew campaign

The National Union of Students Scotland is to resurrect its campaign for student grants as Scotland prepares for its own parliament, writes Olga Wojtas.

The union, which is autonomous from NUS UK, voted for the change at its Edinburgh council meeting.

A Glasgow Caledonian University amendment also condemned tuition fees and the Scottish anomaly of non-Scottish students having to pay an extra Pounds 1,000 for a four-year honours degree.

But it went on to say that the Scottish parliament allowed the Scottish student movement "to pursue a more radical political agenda" and instructed the union to "campaign for the retention of the maintenance grant, this being the most effective mechanism of financial support for the poorest students in society".

Richard Baker, NUS Scotland president, will press the Quigley commission, set up to investigate the impact of the Scottish anomaly, to have a more wide-ranging inquiry into student funding.