News

University budget cuts

By Leanne Rinne
Published: 06/02/2010

England’s university budget is being slashed by a total of £449m as part of the government’s plan to cut back on higher education spending.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) has announced university teaching budgets will be reduced by £215m in the academic year 2010-11.

Union President Paul Tobin said the situation is “frightening not just for current students but for the future of this country”.

The amount universities are given for encouraging students from the poorest backgrounds has been cut by 0.75% and grants for capital projects have been cut by 14.9%.

Future grants will be concentrated on departments with high quality ratings and an extra £10m will go to the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths.

Vice-chancellors and other student leaders have said the cuts are “an extraordinary act of self-harm” which “is bringing higher education to it’s knees”.

This year an unprecedented number of students applying to university will not be offered a place - up to 300,000 students University chiefs have warned.

It is predicted that every place at a top university will receive seven applications.

Higher Education Minister David Lammy has said he is “confident” that Hefce can implement the cuts “in a way that minimises the impact on teaching and students” – but Tobin is uncertain.

“I wish I was confident that cutting nearly £500m from the Higher Education budget would have a negligible impact on teaching and students as Lammy suggests, but I think the reality may be very different.

“HE requires large budgets as it is the forefront of most of the UK’s industrial output as well as providing the knowledge and skills which fuel the economy. If anything, now is a time to invest in universities, as the USA is doing,” said Tobin.

President of the National Union of Students Wes Streeting said: “In spite of protestations to the contrary, the cuts being imposed by the government are going to hit teaching, research and the number of places available – at a time of record demand.”

Next month The University of Sheffield will be told exactly how much money it is to receive.

Tobin said the University must be in constant dialogue with it’s staff and students to ensure the entire community feels secure about the University’s next steps.

Rate this article