Wishful thinking

There was great agitation at this week's Committee of Scottish Higher Education Principals annual forum after Scottish education minister Brian Wilson revealed that some students were more equal than others. The Garrick committee's plea for "equitable treatment" on tuition fees means Scots paying the same for a four-year Scottish honours degree as the English pay for a three-year English honours degree, while the English will pay Pounds 1,000 more for a Scottish honours degree.

Edinburgh University's principal, Sir Stewart Sutherland, chairing the discussion session, said he had just been handed a note from a technician dealing with the microphones, saying "Don't worry, everything will be all right." "I just wish the minister had said that," he sighed.