Thirteen UK universities could go bust over crisis, research warns
HIGHER EDUCATION leaders in Yorkshire have called for the Government to provide more financial support after new research revealed a series of universities in the UK could go bust in the wake of coronavirus.
The call comes after an estimated 13 universities across the UK could end up substantial losses by 2024, according to research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
The study did not name individual institutions, but estimates that 13 universities out of the UK’s 165 higher education institutions would end up with accumulated losses “and thus may not be viable in the long run without a government bailout or debt restructuring”.
Dr Peter O’Brien, the executive director of the charity, Yorkshire Universities, said the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic poses a “significant financial threat”
across the UK higher education sector.
Dr O’Brien told The Yorkshire Post: “We need some support to get through what is clearly a very difficult time. We’ve got to build something that is more sustainable, more durable, more resilient, than what we’ve had at present.”
Dr O’Brien welcomed the Government’s announcement that it is going to put more money into research and development funding nationally and also invest £280m into grant extensions for research impacted by coronavirus.
But he stressed that more needs to be done at a regional level, adding: “We think that it is the right thing in order for the economy to progress.”
In a challenge to Boris Johnson’s levelling-up agenda, Dr O’Brien said that the funding gap could drive education and innovation inequalities.
Sir Chris Husbands, the chairman for the Yorkshire Universities and the Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University, stressed the Government’s response will be critical in determining the future of the sector.
Sir Chris, who also plays a major role in a regional think-tank, said: “A town that loses its university is not a pleasant experience. I think the Government does in its heart know that.”