ONE of Scotland’s most eminent scientists has described Scottish Government plans to exert greater control over universities as a "source of shame".
Professor Jim Naismith, a Fellow of the Royal Society and director of the Biomedical Research Complex at St Andrews University, issued the attack in a speech to graduates.
The SNP is currently pressing ahead with the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Bill which includes proposals to appoint trade union members to universities' ruling Courts for the first time and makes the powerful post of Court chair elected.
The legislation has already provoked a backlash a number of high profile figures including Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, who said it would damage the international reputation of the sector.
Universities fear the Bill will lead to more ministerial interference in higher education, but staff unions and students believe it will make institutions more democratic.
Mr Naismith said: "The Scottish Parliament is currently debating a Bill to give ministers extensive ill-defined powers that have the potential to end autonomy, a principle upon which we and other leading universities around the world are built.
“The Bill also dictates identikit structures for St Andrews and the equally excellent, but completely different Glasgow School of Art. I do not see any of this enhancing or sustaining excellence, nor am I alone in these concerns.
"That this is happening in the birthplace of the Enlightenment, home to several of the world’s best universities, and in a country famed for commitment to education is, to me, a Scot, a source of shame."
The Bill follows criticism by lecturers at the universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow that consultations on proposed cuts to courses and jobs were flawed.
There have also been long-running concerns over the spiralling salaries of principals and the increasing autonomy of their management teams.
Mary Senior, Scotland official for the UCU lecturers’ union, backed the Bill.
She said: “These are measures many staff, students and trade unions have argued for over many years and which have the potential to make our universities more democratic, transparent and accountable.
“The drafting of the Bill has led some in the sector to voice concerns around increased government powers.
“This is not something we would want to see, but we take Ministers at their word that this is not their intention.”
The Scottish Government has always denied that ministers wanted to control universities or interfere in their autonomy.
A spokeswoman said last month: "There is no intention for the Scottish Government to have any involvement in the appointment process for the position of chair at any institution, so any suggestion of us exerting greater direct control over the sector is just wrong.
"The Bill simply aims to improve governance by enabling our higher education institutions to embrace greater transparency and inclusivity in their governance arrangements."
Mr Naismith is a structural biologist whose work has developed an understanding of the structure and mechanism of proteins in an attempt to develop new approaches to destroy drug resistant bacteria and treat other diseases.
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