02:09The grant they get from the Scottish government each year to cover the teaching of Scottish students
02:14has just not been really keeping pace with inflation.
02:18I think the IFS said it was about 19% lower per student than it was a decade ago.
02:25And this has made universities increasingly reliant on the fees they get from international students.
02:32Now, what's happened this year is that the grant they get from the government is actually,
02:36it's not just not keeping pace with inflation, it's actually going down by kind of £28.5 million.
02:44And this has come at the same time that the number of international students is falling as well.
02:50And that's in part kind of as a result of UK government immigration changes.
02:56So they're already in a kind of difficult position and things are getting tougher now.
03:03Callum, we've got people like the head of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce speaking about this.
03:09Why are businesses getting involved, do you think, in this particular issue around universities?
03:15Well, I mean, it's not good for the economy, is it?
03:18For a start, you get, you know, their major employers, universities, and they're kind of, you know, losing jobs.
03:25We've seen at Robert Gordon University, they've opened a severance scheme.
03:30I think they're looking to lose up to 220 posts.
03:37And, you know, one of the cuts that's been made this year is the £7 million upskilling fund.
03:43I mean, that was helping kind of train workers in key sectors, you know, like the transition to net zero,
03:52you know, all the kind of industries linked to that.
03:54So, yeah, you're right.
03:55I mean, we've got Dr Liz Cameron, the chief executive of the Chambers of Commerce,
04:00and she's saying the kind of the status of Scottish universities is at risk.
04:06And it's, you know, it's because they're so important to the economy that she's raising the alarm.
04:13We're going to have a win, though.
04:15I've spoken about John Swinney off the top coming in as SNP leader.
04:19His election this week should happen as first minister, we all expect.
04:25You wrote about the fact that Jenny Gilruth will probably be kept on education.
04:29That seems, with her background, there's no reason to move her under the remodelling of the cabinet under Swinney.
04:36But is there perhaps an opportunity for universities to get their voice heard again with someone fresh coming into that post?
04:43Do you expect them to be banging down the Scottish government's door, so to speak?
04:47I think that is possible, Dale.
04:50I mean, I think not only John Swinney, but Kate Forbes is likely to be coming into the fold as well.
04:56Both kind of former finance secretaries, both considered sort of fairly pro-business.
05:01And as we've, you know, we've seen, I've just been discussing, you know, the links between the economy and business communities and universities.
05:09So I think that is possible.
05:10Yeah, you're right.
05:12It'll be interesting, Callum, with, as you say, Forbes and Swinney coming in.
05:17There was wrongly or rightly a perception amongst business that has been spoken about by a number of figures that the Sturgeon and maybe to a degree Humza Yousaf, the SNP, hadn't been concerned enough about the business community.
05:30And perhaps an opportunity to change with the changes in the cabinet and at the top of the leadership, we shall see.
05:38You can read all the latest of Callum's reports, including his analysis on the situation at Scotsman.com.
05:45There's an education tab in the navigation bar where you can get all the very latest.
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05:53Go and buy a copy of the paper tomorrow where we will cover the coronation of John Swinney in full detail, including the challenges that will be set before the new SNP leader over coming days and weeks.
