UNIVERSITY funding is “structurally reliant” on revenue from overseas students – and is set to overtake the Scottish Government as a funding source next year, MSPs have said.

Holyrood’s Education Committee raised concerns about the “level of geopolitical and economic risk associated with this funding model”. A reliance on cash from overseas students risks “curtailing universities’ abilities to plan for the long-term”, the committee has told Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville.

Members of the Education, Children and Young People Committee heard how universities face a “funding gap” of between £4000 and £7000 in 2022-23, based on cash they receive from the Government for Scottish resident students and the cost of teaching.

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The committee said: “Scottish universities have increasingly looked to international students and fee-paying students from elsewhere in the UK to cross-subsidise both research and Scottish-domiciled students’ undergraduate education.

“Scotland’s funding model is now structurally reliant on international fees. This source of revenue is forecast to overtake government funding as a percentage of the sector’s total income in 2023-24.”

As the number of students at university in Scotland rises – 282,875 in 2020-21 compared to 253,475 in 2018-19 – the committee also raised concerns about accommodation. 12% of students have been homeless “at some point during their studies” as rent is often higher than support finance.

“While the number of students being offered a place at university has increased, the accommodation offered has not kept pace”