After a dispiriting UK general election campaign, in which only 52% of the British adult population voted, the King announced the Labour government’s priorities at the start of the new parliamentary term. By achieving a landslide victory, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has a strong mandate for change, and rapid progress on the government’s priorities is expected.
The 40 Bills put forward tackle some vital topics under a theme of national renewal. Bills within categories of economic stability and growth, security, health, energy policy, social cohesion, and opportunity for all make the agenda ambitious and wide-ranging.
Legislation covering the UK’s many challenges is not deliverable in one Westminster sitting. The government is keen to stress that this is only a starting point. But for higher education leaders, it is concerning that the sector’s long-running funding crisis does not make the hitlist. This anxiety was amplified by comments made by the new education secretary Bridget Phillipson. She told BBC Radio 4 that the government has no plans to raise the tuition fee cap for domestic students, nor to give more public money to universities.
New education secretary, the same HE funding issues to tackle
Higher education financing is a very tough problem to fix, especially when the government weighs its options against student cost-of-living concerns and the overall state of the public purse. It cannot be solved quickly. Yet with some UK universities on the brink of collapse, a further delay to tackling the issue could have severe consequences for the most vulnerable institutions.
Previous governments have kicked the problem down the road. Such a strategy is not sustainable. Whilst there are no easy or fast wins, the government must allocate resources and get stuck into the complexity of understanding its choices. Domestic tuition fees must surely be allowed to rise to levels that at least support the cost of course delivery.
The alternative is to let already stressed the universities go under, and deal with the damage caused by job losses, the impact on local economies, and on the students themselves. Mergers and course cuts are options already being considered by institutions, according to The Sunday Times. Many universities do need to get their finances under control. But if market and inflationary forces impact on the cost side of the equation, then a rational market response to fair pricing and revenue must also be permitted.
With home tuition fees and an increase in state funding off limits for the foreseeable future, international students and their uncapped fees, are likely to be one of the only revenue generating answers in the short term. Phillipson, back on BBC Radio 4 for the Today programme, recently underlined the government’s support for retaining the Graduate Route.
This will be welcome news for universities and under pressure international offices. With other key English speaking study destinations, notably Canada and Australia, also facing challenges with recently introduced restrictions to international student flows, the UK should benefit through a relatively benign approach to the topic from the new government. Prospective students will see that the UK is still open for post-study work opportunities which were considered at high risk under the previous Conservative regime, bringing uncertainty.
However welcome, the reinforcement of a policy already in place does not signal a return to the record levels of international student volumes seen prior to the curtailing of visas for the dependants of students on postgraduate taught courses, which came into effect in January 2024.
International student numbers could see an imminent upturn, but the deeper funding crisis within the higher education sector is a much tougher problem in need of thorough analysis, and the development of detailed root and branch solutions.
