Tuition fees will not be imposed on university students in Scotland under the present government, said education secretary Mike Russell.

The MSP gave the assurance at the annual National Union of Students Scotland (NUS) conference in Dunfermline, but did acknowledge that funding for institutions will come under increased pressure in the coming years.

He said "alternative solutions to tuition fees" should be fully explored in a debate involving government, universities and students about how Scottish higher education will be paid for in the future.

Higher education in England and Wales will come under the spotlight when the Independent Review of Higher Education Funding and Student Finance, led by Lord Browne of Madingley, publishes its findings.

"We cannot hide from what Lord Browne might say," said Mr Russell.

"We have to acknowledge that it will pose difficult questions for us in Scotland on how we fund our universities and university students in the future.

"But this government does not believe that the answer to those questions is tuition fees. There are challenges for us in Scotland - Browne only serves to bring those into a sharper focus, it does not create them.

"This government has re-established the principle of free education and will not introduce tuition fees."

The education secretary’s words have been welcomed by the NUS and wants other political parties in Scotland to rule out fees.

President Liam Burns said: "This will be a relief for many hundreds of thousands of Scottish students studying at university, particularly following a great deal of speculation from university leaders in recent times.

"I hope this announcement can put to rest the idea of tuition fees ever coming back to Scotland so that we can move the debate on to how we fund our universities in a fair and sustainable way.

"Top-up fees and tuition fees are a totally discredited way of funding our universities, saddling students with thousands of pounds worth of debt and putting off many talented people from poorer backgrounds from ever taking up further study.

"We have seen the harm the system can do in the rest of the UK and it's certainly not a road that Scotland, a country which historically values social justice and equality, should not go down."

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott will set out plans to reform education in Scotland at his party’s conference in Perth on Saturday.

The plans will include proposals to give additional help to children from tough backgrounds.