Loading ...£400 million less for universities: a ‘Christmas kick in the teeth’ from Mandelson
English universities will be hit by cuts totalling £398 million next academic year, in what has been described by the University and College Union (UCU) as a “Christmas kick in the teeth for staff and students”.
Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has sent a ‘grant letter’ to Tim Melville-Ross, the head of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), confirming previously announced “efficiency savings” of £263m – and adding a further budget reduction of £135m, including £50m cuts in teaching budgets.
As well as these cuts, which constitute a 6.6% reduction in HEFCE’s government grant, universities could also be fined £3,700 per student recruited above the maximum figure specified by the government.
The UCU said that for the first time in a decade the unit of public spending per student is being cut in real terms. UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said it was a “kick in the teeth” for staff and students:
“We will see teachers on the dole, students in larger classes and a higher education sector unable to contribute as much to the economy or society. How all that marries up with a government that is pioneering a university sector more reliant on student feedback is beyond me.”
The newly announced additional cuts of £135m are a combination of £84m from the capital funding budget, and £51m from teaching – but a promised £109m increase in research funding has been maintained.
The government has also suggested that funding problems could be eased if more students took Foundation and Fast-track degrees – especially for vocational subjects such as engineering and law – over two years instead of three.
Higher education minister David Lammy said: “Fast-track, part-time and two-year degrees do not represent a reduction in quality but an increase in choice. In the current economic climate, it was not a question of whether efficiencies should be made, but of where the efficiencies should be found.”
Mandelson re-iterated the government’s commitment to protecting quality in higher education and also the importance of fair access.
Since research funding has been maintained, elite research-led universities will be less badly affected next year.
Wendy Piatt, the director general of the Russell Group, expressed concern over the effects of decreased capital projects and teaching budgets, but said: “In a very difficult economic climate it is welcome that the department has maintained the increase in research funding previously promised”.
Meanwhile Professor Les Ebdon, chair of Million+, which represents new universities, called the cuts to university budgets “avoidable” and argued that higher education “should have been included in the government’s stimulus package.”
Professor Steve Smith, president of Universities UK (UUK), the vice-chancellors’ organisation, warned that “A reduction in the public funding per student could seriously threaten our ability to offer the high-quality experience our students deserve and expect.”
The Conservatives have said they would provide for 10,000 extra university places, but are thought to be supportive of lifting the cap on student fees – a possibility being considered by Lord Browne as part of the ongoing review of university funding.
