Free tuition fees extended to migrant students

Ola Jasim has lived in Scotland since she was 11 but was not eligible for free tuition fees

Hundreds of students who have come to Scotland as migrants will be eligible for free tuition in future.

The Scottish government has said it will widen eligibility following a landmark legal ruling.

Lawyers successfully argued that Iraq-born Ola Jasim, who has lived in Scotland since she was 11, had her human rights breached.

She had been unable to get free tuition because she was two months short of the length of residency required.

• Tuition fees residency rules breached human rights

Free tuition support will now be extended, from the 2023/24 academic year, to students living in Scotland who have been in the UK for three years, and have been granted leave to remain.

Unaccompanied children who are asylum seekers and the children of asylum seekers will also be able to apply for free tuition in higher or further education.

Ola was aged 20 and had been living in Scotland for nine years when the Court of Session case ruled in her favour in 2022.

Her whole secondary education had been in Glasgow and she had excelled in her examinations.

But when she applied to study medicine in 2020 she was told she could not access free tuition because she was 58 days short of the length of time required to have lived in the country.

Ola's parents previously had to borrow money to pay for her tuition at Dundee University

The court ruled the regulations were unlawful in light of articles in the European Convention on Human Rights relating to discrimination and the right to education.

Higher and Further Education Minister Graeme Dey said: "Scotland has a strong track record in supporting our young people.

"I recognise the impact that any delay to an asylum claim can have on a young person's education journey and I hope the changes set out here will go some way to address that.

"In addition, the changes we are proposing to capture a range of immigration statues will mean that all students, other than excepted groups, must now meet the same length of residence in the UK - three years - to access support."

Ola's parents previously had to borrow money to pay for her fees while she studied medicine at Dundee University.

Following the legal ruling, the Scottish government agreed to cover her tuition for the previous year and going forward.

Last week, First Minister Humza Yousaf insisted he was "absolutely committed" to free university tuition for all Scottish students despite calls for a rethink.

University of Edinburgh principal and vice-chancellor Sir Peter Mathieson had said allowing wealthier families to pay was "worthy of calm consideration".

He argued the move could prevent a brain drain from Scotland.

The first minister said he was "very proud" of the SNP's opposition to tuition fees.