Mass university closure to worry seven in 10 people in UK: Survey

As per a study conducted at King’s College London, universities are not an election priority for UK citizens, however, the majority of them will be worried if university closure happens at a mass level.

Study in UK: As per a new survey though the UK people show real concern about the possibility of institutions closing, yet higher education comes much below in their list of priorities at the general election. The study was conducted by the Policy Institute at King’s College London. The research has shown that UK citizens are satisfied with how universities are performing their role in society. The net satisfaction has doubled since 1991 – in stark contrast to various other institutions and people including government ministers and parliament, where it dropped by nearly 20% points over the same period.

"There has been a considerable increase in net satisfaction with how universities are performing their role in society, from +11% to +24% – again putting universities behind only a handful of key institutions and professions," reads the survey statement.

Universities rank 26th out of 29 policy issues that could influence how people vote in the upcoming general election. The research found that this may be due to low awareness of current challenges of the institutes, when the public is presented with a list of eight key institutions that could be facing serious funding pressures and at risk of closure, they might not be aware that these universities were under threat.

Public blames government for possibility of closure of universities

When the participants were told how they would feel about the widespread closures of UK universities because of funding challenges, seven in 10 (68%) people said they’d be worried, and in such a case, they would blame the UK government (as said by 61% people). As per the survey, (44%) of Conservative voters and 76% of Labour voters say the government would be the most to blame.

"Higher education/universities ranks 26th out of 29 on a comprehensive list of policy issues that could help the public decide which party to vote for at the general election, with just 13% saying it would be a very important factor for them. By contrast, 65% say healthcare will be key and 60% say the same about the rising cost of living – the top two issues for the public," added the survey statement.

On the question of which one is best in the world only three are more likely than universities (30%) to be seen as among the best in the world compared with similar organisations or institutions in other countries – the NHS (45%), the armed forces (37%) and the Royal Family (34%). The universities in the UK beat the legal system (17%), police (19%), UK schools (20%), and BBC (26%).

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