UK universities on Thursday called for an increase in tuition fees for domestic students to tackle significant financial shortfalls after being hit hard in their pockets by tougher visa restrictions for international students.
The president of Universities UK (UUK), which represents 141 British higher education institutions, stressed that visa restrictions implemented last year affected all universities.
“We now have a clear choice: we can allow our distinguished and globally competitive higher education system to decline or we can get our act together,” said Sally Mapstone, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews.
According to a House of Commons research paper, total revenue for the UK higher education sector in 2022-23 exceeded 50 billion pounds, derived mainly from tuition fees and grants. AFP reported.
International students typically pay higher tuition fees than domestic students, making them an important source of revenue for many institutions.
However, the previous Conservative government, led by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, imposed restrictions on foreign student visas, preventing many from bringing their families as part of a crackdown on immigration.
In the first four months of 2024, there were 30,000 fewer applications from abroad than in the same period in 2023, according to official statistics, according to AFP.
Universities have been warning for months about the effect on their finances, with fears that deficits could lead to course cuts and force some to drop out.
Mapstone told a UUK conference in Reading, west London, that the current deficit in the sector was £1.7bn for teaching and £5bn for research.
He urged the government to “invest and support” in order to maintain top-level teaching and research.
Tuition fees paid by domestic students rose from £9,000 to £9,250 a year in 2017, but have remained frozen since then, despite inflation.
King's College London principal Shitij Kapur said fees should now be between £12,000 and £13,000.
