Universities consider firing staff and cutting courses as foreign student enrollments plummet

Hundreds of university staff are facing the risk of being fired as educational institutions scramble to cut costs due to a substantial drop in the admission of foreign students.

University chiefs have warned of cuts, ranging from shutting down courses to shedding teaching staff, due to the institutions being pushed into deficit, The Times reported.

This academic year, at least 15 universities in the UK have announced job cuts and additional cost-saving measures to save finances.

Earlier in March, more than 120 staff at Sheffield Hallam University were served with “risk of redundancy” letters, which gave them until 18 March to apply for voluntary redundancy or one of a “limited number of roles”. The University of Kent in February proposed to cut 58 jobs along with nine courses in an attempt to respond to “financial challenges”.

Due to a freeze in tuition fees, most universities have covered their costs by enrolling overseas students, who pay far more than domestic students.

According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, overseas students comprised 24 per cent of all students in higher education during the 2021-2022 academic year. However, early acceptance data indicates a 37 per cent decrease in overseas recruits for the upcoming financial year.

Northumbria University said the cuts were necessitated due to “a sudden reduction of the number of students” arriving in the UK from Nigeria, where the currency has collapsed against the pound.

Acceptance data suggests there would be a 71 per cent reduction in the number of students arriving from Nigeria, The Times reported.

John Rushforth, executive secretary of the Committee of University Chairs, said: “I’ve been in higher education for 30 years and senior leaders are more worried than I’ve ever seen them.”

He told the newspaper that “bankruptcy is a realistic possibility” for some universities, which are being pushed to do “really difficult things” to stave that off.

“Taking fewer British students is a last resort but if you’re making a loss on something people have to consider it. Everything has got to be looked at because the situation is so serious,” he said.

“Universities have to think hard about what they want to protect and make choices about divesting themselves of things that are not core to the institution. There will be less choice for students. …Fundamentally, either you have to increase income, or you reduce quality or volume.”

Last year, thousands of University and College Union (UCU) staff participated in a walkout to protest the “punitive” pay deductions imposed for engaging in a summer marking boycott

“I’ve not received full pay for five months for taking part in an entirely lawful boycott,” Tanzil Chowdhury, a senior lecturer in law at Queen Mary told the Independent.

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