Responding to the support package announced by the Department for
Education today (Monday), University and College Union general
secretary Jo Grady said:
‘While it is encouraging that the government appears to have
recognised the need to provide support for universities, this
package does not deliver the protection or stability that
students, staff and the communities they serve so desperately
need. The Office for Budget Responsibility says universities are
most at risk of financial pain from the current crisis and they
need more than IOUs to solve the problems they face.
‘The student number cap is a misnomer as it will enable the
wealthiest universities to substantially grow their domestic
student base at the expense of other more locally-focussed
institutions. We cannot afford to let this dog-eat-dog approach
risk substantial damage both to our country’s academic capacity
and local economies which universities are such an important part
of.
‘Instead of kicking the can down the road, the government must
underwrite funding lost from a fall in domestic and international
student numbers and remove incentives for universities to compete
against each other at a time when we need to be pulling
together.’
UCU released a report by London Economics last week that
highlighted a £2.5bn
loss of income from tuition fees and teaching grants.
The Office for
Budget Responsibility said education would be the sector hardest
hit by the coronavirus crisis, with the impact likely to be
felt most by universities.
