Thursday, January 08, 2026
Labour turn the screw on higher education
The Guardian quotes the the Institute for Fiscal Studies who say that universities that relied on fees from international students have also been hit by the last government’s visa changes, which set off a steep fall in the numbers coming to study in the UK. A freeze on tuition fees has not helped either.
Of course, those who might have expected that a Labour government might relax the visa regime. enabling higher education instititions to recover some of the overseas student market, were predictably disappointed when their ministers made it clear that they were not prepared to do that.
Effectively, public funding has contracted and other sources of income have been stretched thinner and thinner, while academic careers have become increasingly precarious as permanent jobs have disappeared. However, things may well get worse as this Guarduan editorial makes clear:
If the sector looked forward to better treatment under a Labour government, its hopes have been dashed. No sooner had Bridget Phillipson announced plans to change the law so that tuition fees will in future rise with inflation, than another decision wiped out the modest gains from this one. From 2028, universities must pay a new flat tax or “levy” of £925 for every international student that they recruit. Coming on top of tighter visa restrictions, which have already made such recruitment harder, some universities will find it increasingly difficult to balance their books. As students and academics return to campuses this month, 24 institutions are regarded by their regulator, the Office for Students, as being at risk of collapse within 12 months. More could exit the market in the next few years.
Further strikes, cuts and closures are likely. But judging by the plans published so far, ministers are ill-prepared for what is coming. The white paper published in the autumn said that universities should work more closely with further education providers. It also promised reform of the research excellence framework and a new power for the Office for Students to cap numbers. But while such problem-solving measures are fine in themselves, they do not add up to an overall strategy, or explain what the promised “change of approach” is meant to achieve.
Despite all their difficulties, universities remain an enormous and irreplaceable national asset. As well as educating millions of people, they generate about £24bn in export earnings, which is about 1% of GDP – more than aircraft manufacturing and legal services combined, as a recent study of public attitudes to higher education pointed out. It was right for ministers to make skills policy a priority. Reform of the options for school leavers and adult learners was long overdue. But ministers cannot continue to ignore the impossible situation that universities have been placed in by successive governments. They need a policy of their own.
So much for Labour's commitment to higher education.
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In all spheres the country needs money to support our institutions. I see no reason why TAXES are not simplified and 1p in the pound rise. I realise it is a touchy prospect but IF the country needs its institutions and defence procurement it needs the MONEY. Universities have served the country well in the past.I see no reason why they cannot again with support.
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