Scottish universities say they are facing their “toughest funding settlement” after £28.5m was cut from the teaching budget for the next academic year.

Umbrella group Universities Scotland reacted to the indicative funding allocations from the Scottish Funding Council.

While teaching funding for universities was down by 3.8%, research funding was up by £12.6m (4.2%) and capital funding increased £2.6m (10.2%).

Universities say they have faced a real-terms erosion of the teaching grant – which covers Scottish students – over the last decade.

Professor Iain Gillespie, convener of Universities Scotland, said: “This is by far the toughest funding settlement universities have faced, as £28.5m of Government cuts had to be found from next year’s teaching budgets.

“After a decade of real-terms erosion of university funding, the Funding Council has been forced to make some very difficult choices.

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