The Tories' war on foreign students isn’t for the good of the country – it's about saving their own skins | Polly Toynbee

By: Polly Toynbee

17 May 2024 at 02:00

This dying government is happy to see universities in crisis, the economy damaged and soft power lost – if it wins a few votes

A key turning point in British politics was Tony Blair’s famous three priorities: “education, education, education”. A giant step was his 1999 conference speech: “Today I set a target of 50% of young adults going into higher education in the next century.” By 2017-18 that symbolic threshold had been crossed in England, with more than half of young people taking that leap forward. In 1980 it was just 15%.

But universities are falling into severe financial crisis. Unsurprisingly, the Tories are not unduly bothered. They attack universities all the time, calling for cuts in student numbers. Now they are plunging the knife into vital funding from foreign students. They ignore pleas from major companies, which wrote to the government this week, to stop a migration policy that is threatening investment in the UK by blocking foreign students.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

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The Guardian
Universities in England risk closure with 40% facing budget deficits, says report
16 May 2024 at 09:03

Universities in England risk closure with 40% facing budget deficits, says report

The Guardian

By: Richard Adams Education editor

16 May 2024 at 09:03

Analysis by Office for Students says increasing number will need to make significant changes to their funding model

An increasing number of universities in England face “a material risk of closure” unless they dramatically cut costs or merge over the next few years, according to the higher education regulator’s annual health check.

The report by the Office for Students (OfS) paints a bleak picture of universities overreliant on international students to plug the gaps left by the declining income from domestic student fees, with the OfS warning that 40% of England’s universities are expected to run budget deficits this year.

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