Brexit Negotiations Minister Mike Russell says Scotland is seen as a nation with key advantages in the further and higher education sector, the most important of which is membership of the EU.

Mr Russell says the Tory amendment is completely wrong, as coming out of the EU actually creates damage to the education sector in Scotland.

Tory MSP Liz Smith says is not our duty to take advantages that Brexit will bring.

Mr Russell says the first duty is to tell the truth and he cannot see the advantages of Brexit.

Conservative MSP Ross Thomson says the SNP has shown only belligerence rather than diplomacy since the Brexit vote.

Mr Thomson says the Scottish government are failing to grasp the opportunities Brexit will bring.

He says the stark message from our education institutions are that they are underfunded.

The Tory MSP says when we leave the EU there will be the chance to charge EU students and fund for more bursaries for Scots.

Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon says clarity over the sector post Brexit is so important. 

Ms Lennon says students and staff need reassurances.

The Labour MSP says EU students make a huge contribution to higher education institutions and the economy.  

She says Labour hope the Scottish government will soon be able to give assurances on what will happen to EU students post Brexit.

Ms Lennon says she also hopes that the government will give assurances to staff from the EU.

She says she hopes the minister and government will keep all this in mind during discussions. 

SNP MSP Graeme Dey says the loss of EU funding will have a profound effect on higher education.

Mr Dey says this funding has opened up reciprocal learning opportunities.

The impact of Brexit will be "severe" to the sector, he says. 

The SNP MSP says with every passing day since the UK voted to leave the EU, the wisdom Scotland displayed to vote remain is more and more clear. 

SNP MSP Gillian Martin says students need answers.

Ms Martin asks if talented EU citizens will be able to study and work in our country.

She says they need an answer now. 

Scottish Conservative MSP Jeremy Balfour says Scotland has one of the best higher education systems in the world.

Mr Balfour says having a diverse student population from other countries contributes to the higher education experience.

The Scottish Conservative MSP says Brexit does raise challenges but also opportunities.

He says it is depressing to hear all the "doom and gloom" from other benches on Brexit.  

Leaving the EU "does not mean leaving Europe", he says. 

Scottish Labour MSP Iain Gray says it should not be forgotten that colleges continue to provide 20% of higher education in Scotland despite cuts. 

Mr Gray says his party will oppose the Scottish Conservative amendment this evening. 

The Scottish Labour MSP says not one higher education institution is enthusiastic about Brexit and they're concerned about the changes ahead. 

He says the Tories' suggestion of opportunities after leaving the EU seems to have completely passed higher education institutions by. 

In February a Westminster committee added its voice to calls to bring back post-study visas in Scotland.

Holyrood's devolution committee had already backed bringing back the visas, which allowed students to remain in Scotland to work after graduation but were withdrawn in 2012.

The Scottish Affairs Committee said returning the visas could help fill skills gaps in key professions.

Image source, bbc

The UK government said it would study the evidence put forward, but ended running a pilot project excluding Scotland.

All of Holyrood's political parties want to see the visas brought back, alongside universities colleges and businesses.

Edinburgh University has warned of a "brain drain of global talent" caused by top talent moving away from Scotland after graduation.

Scottish Conservative MSP Liz Smith says being part of the EU has played a major part in making Scotland's colleges and universities great.

Ms Smith says Scotland's institutions have shown great adaptability and they will need all that imagination and resilience as never before.

She says there are already cases where a UK lead in research projects has been downgraded.

The Tory MSP says the message the government sets out, including Westminster, is crucial

She calls for a post-study work visa to be introduced in Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon has said there was a real risk the UK could be facing a "lost decade" after leaving the EU.

The first minister was speaking at a meeting of the Scottish Parliament's European Committee.

She told MSPs on the committee that she remained "profoundly concerned" about the implications of Brexit, with the early signs "not encouraging".

And she said the "least worst option" of remaining in the single market should be the key objective.

Ms Sturgeon also criticised the UK government's failure to deliver answers on what will happen in relation to country's departure from the European Union.

Ms Somerville says she welcomes the continuation of Horizon 2020 funding, but says she is concerned to hear anecdotal evidence about European research.

The minister says she welcomes the UK government's guarantee on EU funding, as far as it goes.

She says: "I firmly believe the best way to guarantee European funding is to continue our relationship with the EU."

The minister says she is concerned about the first minister's warning of a 'lost decade'

In the decade to 2014-15, cash terms income from non-EU tuition fees rose from £140m to £438m. The growth rate was even higher in the four oldest, "ancient" universities - St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh - up in real terms by 190%.

In 2014, the report shows there were more than 7,600 Chinese students in Scottish higher education.

Image source, Carol Walker

The next biggest nationality was 4,100 Americans, up 22% in five years, and then German, Irish and Nigerian.

Indians are big spenders on higher education outside the sub-continent, but numbers have fallen 57% to 1,400, in only five years.

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

BBC Scotland's business and economy editor Douglas Fraser 

An Audit Scotland report into the state of Scotland's universities drew the evidence together on foreign students in Scotland.

It raises some big questions about the sustainability of the current model for funding higher education. It also draws attention to a neglected part of the heated debate about immigration.

Image source, PA

And it chimes with a  new report from the Fraser of Allander Institute, urging politicians of all hues and parliaments to review all their economic thinking in the wake of the Brexit vote.

The massive challenges aren't ahead, they say - they're already here.

And one of the points they make is about that student question; how to make Scotland an attractive destination for international recruits?

Ms Somerville says she is looking at the 2017-18 cohort and understands the concerns expressed on this.

The minister says "we need to return to a post-study route" and says she is disappointed the pilot scheme only applied to institutions in England.

Five Scottish universities feature in a respected list of the world's top 200 higher education institutions.

However, all but one have slipped down the Times Higher Education world university rankings, external since last year.

Image source, OTHER

Edinburgh and Glasgow universities fell several places to 27th and 88th respectively, while St Andrews dropped out of the top 100 all together.

Only the University of Dundee climbed the rankings, from 185th last academic year to 180th in 2016/17. 

Further and Higher Education Minister Shirley-Anne Somerville repeats the Scottish government's Brexit mantra, "all options are on the table".

Ms Somerville says she has been in contact with universities and colleges over the last months.

The minister says there are concerns about the free movement of staff and students across Europe and the attractiveness of our education institutions to those in the EU.

She says the Scottish government moved quickly to reassure EU students about their funding.

The number of EU students studying in Scotland rose 97% in the decade to 2014-15.

That can be largely explained by the Scottish government paying tuition fees (unless you're from England, Wales or Northern Ireland. It's an EU thing - EU citizens from other countries have to be treated in the same way as those in Scotland, but not those from other parts of the same country).

Image source, SPL

The number from outside the EU, who pay hefty fees, was up 58%. So by 2014, there were 20,800 EU/non-UK students in Scottish higher education, and 29,200 non-EU.

Along with other UK students, the share of those with homes outside Scotland has risen from one in four in 2005-06 to one in three two years ago.

Image source, Reuters

The Scottish government will now lead a debate on the implications of the EU referendum on higher and further education.