It says something about the state of British higher education when the government starts floating the idea that failing universities might be forced to charge lower fees. Once unthinkable, it now feels inevitable. Too many institutions are teetering on the brink, too many courses are being axed and too many graduates are asking: what’s the point of going to university?
Campuses are quietly shrinking. Some 43 per cent of institutions expect to be in deficit this year, rising to more than 70 per cent by 2026. Many universities are already making deep cuts, with a quarter reducing staff to balance the books. Since tuition fees were capped at £9,250 in 2017, inflation has eaten away their real value by almost 30 per cent.
Meanwhile, international students now account for nearly one in five of all undergraduates. Many institutions rely on their higher fees to survive, a system many describe as “unsustainable”, particularly given the Government’s crackdown on overseas students’ families.
The result is a slow unravelling of what we once thought permanent. Even well-known English departments have closed, alongside history and philosophy programmes. Humanities subjects are under threat — victims of the drive to focus on more “profitable” STEM or business courses. The idea of a university as a place of open learning feels increasingly quaint.
I see this from another angle too. As someone currently writing Ucas references, I work with pupils every year for whom university still holds the promise of independence and discovery. But I also see many applying simply because it’s expected — because not going carries a faint air of failure.
That stigma, built up over the past two decades, needs to go. The reality is that one third of graduates now work in jobs that don’t require a degree or are regarded as highly skilled. The median average real terms starting salary is around £26,000, while the average student leaves with £45,000–£50,000 of debt — figures confirmed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Many will never repay it in full.
We have elevated “academic” achievement above all else, as if learning a trade were second-rate. It isn’t. The construction industry alone forecasts a shortage of 250,000 workers by 2027, according to the Construction Industry Training Board. Electricians, plumbers and engineers are earning more than many graduates — and with less debt. This is not an argument against universities. It’s an argument for honesty: about their purpose, their value, and who they truly serve. Some institutions will adapt. Others, sadly, will not. But perhaps that’s no bad thing if it forces a rethink of what education in Britain is for.
We might look to Germany, where so many more young people follow vocational or apprenticeship routes and enjoy strong job prospects without stigma. Here, we persist in funnelling teenagers into lecture halls and then wondering why graduate underemployment rises year after year. If some universities are now forced to charge less, it might be the jolt we need — an admission that the one-size-fits-all degree model no longer works.
Success should never have been defined by a gown and mortarboard alone. It’s time we valued the coder, the carpenter and the classics scholar equally — and built an education system that helps each find their own way. Right now, we are sleepwalking towards disaster.
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