UK Universities facing financial crunch due to visa curbs on international students

While acknowledging the financial crunch, the university sector of the UK has called for an increase in domestic tuition fees to get better financially.

As the university sector in the UK feared earlier, visa restrictions on international students are creating financial hardship for UK universities.

Sally Mapstone, president of Universities UK (UUK), said, "All its universities were feeling the crunch since the curbs came in last year," as reported by the Economic Times.

"There is now a clear choice: we can allow our distinguished, globally competitive higher education system to slide into decline or we can act together," added Sally Mapstone.

Ministers could not avoid the need to invest in universities, said Universities UK (UUK) which has 141 British Higher Education Institutes.

During UUK’s annual conference in Reading, she said, “Our message to government is clear, our universities can be, must be, key partners in achieving the goals you have set out. We can work with you to drive growth, opportunity and equality but we need your investment and your support to do so.”

Mapstone was responding to education secretary Bridget Phillipson's remark that there is no quick fix for the university sector's financial crisis.

“As you all know too well, these are complex problems, there are no easy answers or quick fixes. So I can’t promise immediate or painless resolutions,” said the education secretary.

Promises not enough during urgent crisis, says UUK

UUK demanded that the government should increase the £9,250 annual tuition fee for domestic students. It has never been increased in a decade. Mapstone said that over 50 institutes are now cutting jobs and courses, hence, the Labour government's promises are not enough to handle the situation.

"We need to continue to be very clear about the magnitude and urgency of the funding sustainability challenge that so many of us are having to confront on a daily basis,” she added.

“Our universities generate over £14 of economic impact for every £1 of funding. This is around eight times higher than the average return of £1.80 for each £1 of public investment for other government projects between 2010 and 2022," she further added, quoting from the report.

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