Universities on brink of collapse as foreign student numbers expected to plummet, warns GMB union

GMB union is calling for review of how the sector is funded before an expected crash in foreign student numbers in the autumn. 

The union claims the Government needs to act quickly to protect thousands of jobs and stop the collapse of some of the UK’s best-known higher education centres. 

The COVID-19 Crisis has seen an unprecedented number of campus’s closed. 

Statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Authority [1] show that in 2018/19 UK Universities had 2,384,000 students, of whom 486,000 were from overseas, with 343,000 from outside the European Union, and 143,000 from EU countries. 

Critically for the sector, the number of students enrolling in UK Universities annually from China alone has exceeded the number of enrolments from the entire European Union.  

In 2018/19 32% of non UK first year students came from China. 

GMB analysis of the data shows that 20.4% of all students in UK Universities come from overseas, but some universities rely heavily on non UK students.  

At least 43 universities have more than 30% of their number made up by overseas students, including Imperial College, the LSE and London Business school. [2]

Kevin Brandstatter, GMB National Officer for Higher Education said  :

"The number of students coming to UK universities in the autumn is likely to collapse and this poses a threat to tens of thousands of jobs in the sector.  

“The days of tens of thousands of overseas students coming to the UK are over for the foreseeable future and gone with them will be the fee income which many universities have been forced to rely on. 

“This will mean an uncertain future for thousands of support staff -  directly employed by universities and on outsourced contracts  - continue to maintain facilities and provide services for staff and students. 

“The Government needs to urgently review funding of the Higher Education sector.   

“Universities employ, directly or indirectly half a million workers, and in many places, universities are the biggest employer and are major employers in many more.” 

ENDS

Media enquiries: GMB Press Office on 07958 156846 or at press.office@gmb.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

[1]  https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/where-from 

[2] Top 7 Universities with the highest proportion of overseas students