Government warned that Welsh universities are in an 'precarious position'
Government warned that Welsh universities are in an 'precarious position'
The alert from MPs follows a union claiming there is a real danger that a Welsh university could collapse as they face a £70m+ combined deficit, squeezed budgets and rising costs
Welsh Affairs Committee chair Ruth Jones MP
(Image: Mark Lewis Photography )
Welsh universities are in an "acutely precarious position", a parliamentary committee has warned. The alert follows a union claiming that there is "a real danger a Welsh university could collapse". The Welsh Affairs Committee is calling on the UK and Welsh governments to look at university funding again. Vice chancellors claim the current model isn't working as they face vast deficits and cuts.
MPs on the Welsh affairs committee are calling on the UK Government "to think again on how universities are supported at a systemic level and to work with the Welsh Government to put them on a sustainable footing."
Universities say they are struggling to make ends meet with fewer higher paying international students, increased costs and home tuition fees not covering the price of running those courses.
Swansea University Vice Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle says the current university funding model is "unsustainable"
In a statement after taking evidence from of all Welsh universities the committee, chaired by Newport West and Islwyn MP Ruth Jones ,said said: "universities in Wales are in an acutely precarious position, as they face up to wide-ranging challenges including falling admissions among Welsh young people, declining international student numbers and tuition fees lagging far behind inflation."
The statement went on to say that the committee noted that this week's Industrial Strategy acknowledged the critical role universities play in driving skills and innovation, while they also hold "huge economic and civic importance to communities up and down Wales". You can read details of what vice chancellors told the Welsh Affairs Committee here.
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Professor Wendy Larner, Vice Chancellor of cardiff-university>Cardiff University, told the committee on June 25 that this is 'an existential moment for universities' and that universities 'need to be different for the future'.
Professor Paul Boyle, Vice Chancellor of Swansea University, added that universities are working towards financial sustainability within a system that 'does not lend itself to that sustainability'.
Hearing from them and other vice chancellors the committee said: "The status quo is unsustainable. It's therefore crucial that the UK Government acts, together with its Welsh Government partners, as part of its promised major reforms for higher education."
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Despite recent rises in home tuition fees and an extra £18m+ from the Welsh Government this year for universities in Wales say this extra income was all but wiped out by a collective £18m+ national insurance bill and other rising bills.
But critics, and some university staff say thay there is a risk in increasing domestic fees. A further rise may deter home students from applying at the same time as fewer international students want to come to university here. It could also make university less attractive to people from less well off households and affect widening participation.
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Nearly every university is making cuts with hundreds of jobs shed, courses earmarked for closure and warnings of more savings ahead.
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