This week, it was the University of Essex\u2019s turn<\/a> to hit the headlines by declaring a \u00a313.8m shortfall, blaming a 38% drop in applications from foreign postgrad students for its plans to freeze pay and promotions. But it merely joins the University and College Union\u2019s growing list<\/a> of, so far, <\/strong>39 institutions planning cuts, ranging from ancient Russell Group names to relative minnows, and from modest voluntary redundancy schemes to the \u00a3100m savings<\/a> that Coventry University plans to find over the next two years. What\u2019s striking is that it\u2019s seemingly solid, middle-ranking research institutions, not those bumping along the bottom of league tables, that are starting to hit the panic button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At best, a miserable summer beckons for lecturers at risk of losing their jobs \u2013 another I spoke to was preparing to mark his students\u2019 finals and reapply for his post in the same anxious week \u2013 while students face a no-frills future of fewer choices and more uncertainty. (A friend\u2019s son found out only halfway through his gap year that the history and politics degree he was due to start this autumn has been ditched for a distinctly stripped-back version).<\/p>\n\n\n\n At worst, some are asking how the sector would cope if an established university goes bust. Since that\u2019s never happened before, nobody seems entirely sure how it would work: what would happen to students halfway through their degrees, or whether one failure might spook creditors into pulling the plug on others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What has happened to Britain\u2019s supposedly world-beating universities is partly the old post-Brexit story of the young suffering the consequences of something they overwhelmingly didn\u2019t vote for. But it\u2019s complicated by austerity, and arguably by some vice-chancellors biting off more than they can chew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The story starts with the freezing of tuition fees<\/a> in 2017, creating a growing hole in university finances that many plugged by recruiting more foreign students (who pay more than British teenagers for the same degree). That kept the show on the road until the resulting immigration numbers became politically toxic, prompting a government clampdown on visas and a sudden 33% fall<\/a> in foreign student numbers compared with the same time last year. In February<\/a>, I wrote that we were about to find out what happens when young people stop coming to a country publicly hostile to them, and now here we are: the net result isn\u2019t more choice for British teenagers but, if anything, the reverse, given that foreign students were effectively subsidising them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, middle-ranking universities have long complained of grander institutions stealing their lunch, by expanding humanities courses \u2013 which are relatively cheap to provide \u2013 and taking in teenagers who would otherwise have gone to the next tier of universities down. Some borrowed heavily to expand and make themselves more attractive, only to be caught out by rocketing inflation and borrowing costs. Put all of that together and it\u2019s no surprise that an independent report<\/a> commissioned by Universities UK from the accountants PwC notes 40% of English and Northern Irish universities (plus 36% of Scottish ones, operating under a different fee system) are expected to go into the red this year, adding that \u201cit may be inevitable that there is some loss of provision\u201d. And in a mockery of what was understood by levelling up, students from poorer backgrounds may be hardest hit: they\u2019re disproportionately likely either to go to post-1992 institutions, or to choose the nearest university so that they can save on rent by living at home. If it scraps the course they wanted, what then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps you find it hard to care about universities at a time when the NHS is on its knees and everything in public life seems broken. Or perhaps you think teenagers with middling A-level results are better off not racking up debt for degrees that might not help their job prospects all that much. (Though, even as Britain argues about whether 35% of teenagers<\/a> going to college is too much, Australia is debating the case for 55%<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n What we\u2019re seeing isn\u2019t some slow, careful rebalancing of the system, done with teenagers\u2019 best interests at heart. Instead, it\u2019s just another messy, confused decline of something Britain was genuinely once good at, which contributed billions to the economy while projecting soft power abroad. Fixing it will take more than just funding, although a rise in tuition fees now seems inevitable. What\u2019s needed is a more fundamental restructuring, and an honest debate about exactly what \u2013 and who \u2013 a modern university education is really for. Right now, that\u2019s the essay question to which nobody seems to have a clear answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Editor’s Note : This articles was first published by The guardian in the UK<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Imagine a beach before the tsunami. Out at sea, the wave is gathering force, yet on the sand people are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/download.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1805,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/universities-and-other-institutions-of-higher-learning-to-re-open-for-medical-students\/","url_meta":{"origin":11791,"position":0},"title":"UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO RE-OPEN FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"September 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Officials at the National Council for Higher Education, (NCHE) are locked up in a high level meeting this morning ahead of the phased re-opening of institutions of higher learning with final year students undertaking health related training following President Yoweri Museveni\u2019s directive. \u201cThe \u00a0NCHE\u00a0 leadership is now working on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2952,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/all-nursery-and-primary-teachers-must-have-university-degrees-govt\/","url_meta":{"origin":11791,"position":1},"title":"All Nursery and Primary Teachers Must Have University Degrees -Gov’t","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The government has\u00a0issued\u00a0\u00a0new National Teacher Policy\u00a0that requires anybody teaching children in Uganda to have at least a\u00a0university Bachelors\u00a0degree. It doesn't matter whether one is teaching in a government or private school, as long as one is teaching in Uganda, the minimum qualification shall be a degree from a recognised university.Those\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Muyingo-John-Chrysostom.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Muyingo-John-Chrysostom.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Muyingo-John-Chrysostom.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Muyingo-John-Chrysostom.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10187,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/president-museveni-salutes-nche-for-celebrating-20th-anniversary\/","url_meta":{"origin":11791,"position":2},"title":"President Museveni salutes NCHE for celebrating 20th anniversary","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 17, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"President Yoweri Museveni has congratulated the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) on their 20th anniversary. President Museveni stated ,\"The NCHE, being the transition to higher learning, should be very categorical on our historical role, by insisting on a well-tailored modern type of education which in my view is about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mus.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mus.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mus.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/mus.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12470,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/victoria-university-to-offer-law-degree-program-after-it-secured-nche-approval\/","url_meta":{"origin":11791,"position":3},"title":"Victoria University To Offer Law Degree Program After It Secured NCHE Approval","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"July 22, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has accredited Victoria University\u2019s Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Degree Program. This after the University fulfilled all the requirements by NCHE to offer the course, an addition to their long list of other courses. According to Victoria University Vice Chancellor, Prof Lawrence Muganga, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10321,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/education-minister-janet-museveni-overseeing-construction-of-new-ministry-headquarters-to-save-shs4-5bn-annually\/","url_meta":{"origin":11791,"position":4},"title":"Education Minister Janet Museveni Overseeing Construction Of New Ministry Headquarters to save shs4.5bn annually","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ministry of Education and Sports has commenced construction of its own headquarters. This initiative is anticipated to result in annual savings of 4.5 billion shillings, which they have been spending on rent. Currently, the ministry rents office spaces for its technical staff, and departments in various private buildings, including\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Education-ministry.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Education-ministry.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Education-ministry.jpg 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4953,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/govt-takes-over-fort-portals-mountains-of-the-moon-university\/","url_meta":{"origin":11791,"position":5},"title":"Govt takes over Fort Portal’s Mountains of the Moon University","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"January 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Government through the Ministry of Education has officially taken over the Mountains of the Moon University in Fort Portal. Parliament in September last year approved a motion for the takeover, four years after the university private administration had written to government to turn the university into a public institution after\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Education"","block_context":{"text":"Education","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/muyingo.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/muyingo.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/muyingo.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/muyingo.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-34b","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11791"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11793,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11791\/revisions\/11793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9bb7f5f38dead5d0cf42fe65fa6db6e0bece9cb4\/0_502_2048_1229\/master\/2048.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=83a9ed41fa17fac89a0d0183595eb703\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n