Jim McGovern, MP for Dundee West, has written to Mike Russell MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, calling on him to abandon plans to force universities to merge.

This comes as fears surface that Abertay and Dundee universities may be forced to merge under new proposals set out by the Scottish government.

Particular concerns surround Abertay University who have been asked to postpone finding a new principal.

The new proposals, set out in a pre-legislative paper put before the Scottish Parliament, would hand over power to force mergers of universities to Scottish ministers, effectively taking away decision making powers away from the universities themselves.

Jim McGovern said,

"Dundee has two fantastic universities, and they have been allowed to develop to such high standards because while receiving government support, they have been allowed to follow their own directions and make their own decisions.

"This has led them to innovate to such an extent that they are now model universities."

"The Scottish government has presented a series of half baked proposals to the Scottish parliament for the future of higher education in Scotland, among them is this draconian proposal to allow ministers to force our universities to make decisions they otherwise wouldn’t have made."

"The SNP administration needs to roll back from this ham fisted attempt at reform.

" They have thrown doubt on Abertay’s process to find a new principal and its future as an independent university, and they threaten to harm the excellent work done by Dundee’s universities over the last decade by forcing them to merge."

Mr McGovern concluded,

"I have written to Mike Russell asking him to think again on these proposals, and I have asked the Scottish government to fully commit to a well resourced and well supported higher education sector in Scotland.

"The academic and administrative independence of our universities is essential to that aim."