The rector of Dundee High School has claimed non-Scots are gaining an ”unfair advantage” in seeking places at Scottish universities.
Dr John Halliday was speaking as a political row broke out over clearing, the process through which students who have not done as well as they hoped in their exams try to find course vacancies.
Some institutions, including Dundee University, have separate lists for Scottish and EU applicants who do not pay fees and for applicants from the rest of the UK and non-EU countries who have to pay thousands of pounds a year for tuition.
Far more courses are open to fee-paying students.
Dundee University has said it would face financial penalties if it over-recruited Scottish students.
Dr Halliday said: ”It’s not just clearing, it’s the whole admissions process. Access to university should be based entirely on ability, on exam attainment and on recognised potential. The process should be open, transparent and fair.”
He believes an increasing trend towards operating a ‘two-tier’ system is disadvantaging Scottish applicants.
”There is a concern that the admissions process has become less transparent, less consistent and gives an unfair advantage to people from the rest of the UK and overseas compared to people from Scotland with comparable qualifications,” he said.
”I’m very concerned that universities are being pressurised by central Government to restrict numbers of Scottish students and that’s something I deplore.”
A level playing field was needed to restore fairness to the system, he argued.
Robin Parker, Scotland president of the National Union of Students, said he could understand why Scots students felt aggrieved at being turned away from clearing while their counterparts from across the border were welcomed with open arms.
He said: ”This is yet another example of the unfairness built into the new system of tuition fees for students from the rest of the UK.”
He added: ”This just shows the potential for unfairness for Scottish and EU students too.”
But the Scottish Government said the fact that universities can now charge students from the rest of the UK has had no bearing on the number of places available to Scottish students.
A spokesman said: ”The situation with clearing places for Scottish students has been similar for a number of years now as the majority of students have already secured an offer at the university of their choice.”