1,500 job losses are predicted for region’s universities
CORONAVIRUS could cost our region’s universities £118m as international students stay away from the UK.
That’s according to a report commissioned by the University and Colleges Union (UCU), which predicts the pandemic could cause a £2.6 billion shortfall in the UK-wide university sector.
The report, by economics and policy consultancy firm London Economics, predicts most of the loss will come from international students choosing not to study in the UK, which has seen the most deaths in Europe from Covid19. A decline in new student applications from within the UK is also predicted.
Between them, the North East’s five universities are predicted to lose £118m in the next academic year, thanks to a fall of 11,815 in new student numbers.
Assuming that the insitutions are forced to cut spending in line with the loss, the report says, 1,495 of the more than 20,000 people employed by universities in the North East are predicted to lose their jobs.
All five of the region’s institutions say they are currently in a good financial position to handle any hit to their income as a result of the pandemic. Newcastle University said it had “already implemented” some measures to ensure continuing financial strength, while Northumbria University said it was “actively involved in discussions about recovery and regeneration”.
Durham University is “currently taking stock of the financial challenges ahead”, while a spokesperson for the University of Sunderland said the institution “is making its own plans to deal with any shortfall in income”.
A spokesperson for Teesside University acknowledged that the next year was likely to be “extremely challenging” for the entire university sector, and that bosses are “identifying efficiencies” and “reviewing expenditure”.
The Department for Education has said the Government understands that the outbreak “poses significant financial challenges to the sector”, and on May 4 pledged to bring forward £2.6bn in tution fee payments forward, to help universities manage financial risk, while temporary controls on student numbers will be enforced.
Science Minister Amanda Solloway has also announced that £100m of public funding will be brought forward to this academic year to help protect university research activities.