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No parents are likely to love you for suggesting either they or their weans should pay towards the cost of university degrees.

, principal of is in the eyes of some a brave man for breaking ranks with his counterparts in other Scottish universities to say what he believes needs to be said publicly: in the current financial climate, future graduates may need to pay something back to the university when they leave.

In the eyes of others he may appear a bounder.

Down south students . The vast majority pay it after graduation once they're earning. It's little comfort that this is only a contribution to the real cost of a degree and that in years to come this may seem like a bargain compared to charges of £5-7,000 expected before long.

To many it seems obvious and right that university degrees should never come with a price tag. But for some years Scottish university principals have privately been very worried. Right now much of their funding comes from the public purse. But the country is skint and big cuts in public spending are expected.

Soundings indicate most Scottish principals fear unless they can tap into a new funding stream - some kind of charge or tax levied on graduates - our universities will progressively be left trailing.

Scotland has traditionally been eminent in higher education, but last week an indicated placed only one Scottish university among the top 100 institutions in the world.

. Would the prospect of a fee on graduation lower this figure even further? Or can - as some argue - a bigger budget for student grants and loans overcome that disincentive?