I have no opinion about whether tuition fees in Scotland are warranted or not, I'm just saying that it's incoherent to say that tuition fees are being paid by the taxpayer after an announcement that tuition fees will not be introduced in Scotland.
Hypothetically, assume that there were already tuition fees in Scotland (without equivocating between fees paid from "relevant Government department(s)" and tuition fees) and that the government had just announced that they would not be increasing the tuition fee. Would it be more accurate to say "Scotland says tuition fee increase to be met by taxpayers, not individual students."?
Saying that recent increases in the costs of higher education will not be shifted from the taxpayer to the individual student in Scotland would be fair. Saying the taxpayers are supplementing themselves is nonsensical.
Hypothetically, assume that there were already tuition fees in Scotland (without equivocating between fees paid from "relevant Government department(s)" and tuition fees) and that the government had just announced that they would not be increasing the tuition fee. Would it be more accurate to say "Scotland says tuition fee increase to be met by taxpayers, not individual students."?
Saying that recent increases in the costs of higher education will not be shifted from the taxpayer to the individual student in Scotland would be fair. Saying the taxpayers are supplementing themselves is nonsensical.