The UK is home to some of the best universities in the world, but there is a growing crisis happening at British universities
In this episode, we'll explain what this crisis is, why British universities are in this unusual position, and learn about the key challenges facing the British university sector.
[00:00:04] Hello, hello hello, and welcome to English Learning for Curious Minds, by Leonardo English.
[00:00:11] The show where you can listen to fascinating stories, and learn weird and wonderful things about the world at the same time as improving your English.
[00:00:20] I'm Alastair Budge, and today is the start of another three-part mini-series, this time on the loose theme of education.
[00:00:30] In part one, today’s episode, we are going to talk about the UK university crisis.
[00:00:35] In part two, we will talk about the history of private tutoring, one-on-one tutoring, and ask ourselves whether it is the reason for the “geniuses” of the past.
[00:00:47] And in part three, we will look into a crystal ball and talk about some of the most interesting ideas about the future of education.
[00:00:56] OK then, let’s get right into it and talk about the UK university crisis.
[00:01:03] When Tony Blair became British Prime Minister in 1997 he proudly said that the top three priorities of his government would be “education, education, education”.
[00:01:18] It was a slogan, but a powerful one.
[00:01:22] After all, who doesn’t like the idea of better schools for children, better training and pay for teachers, and more young people going to university and getting a quality education?
[00:01:34] Since this famous speech, the number of people going to university in the UK has almost doubled.
[00:01:43] There are 2.9 million people studying at universities in the UK, almost 1 in 20 people in the country.
[00:01:51] And as you may know, the UK has some of the best universities in the world.
[00:01:57] Oxford and Cambridge are two that I imagine you will have heard of, but they are just two of the country’s 166 universities, many of which are very high quality.
[00:02:09] In fact, the UK is second only to the United States in terms of the number of universities in the top 100 in the world.
[00:02:19] But there is a growing crisis at British universities, a series of headwinds, dangerous conditions, that threaten to do serious, longstanding damage to the sector, and as a consequence, to the country.
[00:02:34] So, what’s going on?
[00:02:37] Well, first let me tell you about some peculiarities of UK universities, and explain why they are probably a little different from the universities in your country.
[00:02:49] Unlike in many countries, universities in the UK are technically not owned by the government, they aren’t “state” in the same way that most universities in Italy or France or Spain are.
[00:03:02] They are autonomous institutions, which means they manage their own finances, they choose what to teach, and they are responsible for making sure they provide a good education to their students.
[00:03:15] They are run more like a business than a branch of government; it is the responsibility of the university to attract students, deliver courses, and make sure that its income is the same or greater than its expenses.
[00:03:30] In other words, it needs to balance its own books.
[00:03:34] This doesn’t mean that there is no public funding whatsoever; the British government does provide some financial support through research grants and public funds, but this only accounts for around 28% of the income of UK universities.
[00:03:52] So, where does the rest of the money come from, if it’s not the government?
[00:03:57] Well, the students, for the most part.
[00:04:00] Tuition fees, paid directly by university students, make up 53%–just over half–of the total income at British universities.
[00:04:11] As you might know, British universities are expensive to attend.
[00:04:16] If you are from the UK, as an undergraduate you pay £9,250 per year, so that’s around €11,000.
[00:04:27] That’s the maximum you'll pay if you are British, and it’s the same whether you go to the best university in the country or the worst, whether you do an expensive course to deliver, like medicine or veterinary science, or whether you do a less-expensive course, like a humanities subject.
[00:04:46] So, just under €11,000 is the absolute maximum you will pay for your tuition.
[00:04:53] But if you are an international student there is no limit to the amount you might pay.
[00:04:59] International students typically pay between £20,000 and £30,000 per year, so between €25,000 and €35,000.
[00:05:11] And the most expensive course is just under £70,000, or €85,000.
[00:05:18] That’s the undergraduate medicine course at Cambridge, by the way, and it lasts for 6 years, so the tuition fees alone will set back a student almost half a million Euros.
[00:05:32] So the dirty little secret, or not really a secret if you look at the student numbers, is that the tuition fees British students pay are heavily subsidised by international students.
[00:05:46] A Cambridge medical student from China or Saudi Arabia, or anywhere outside Britain for that matter, is essentially paying for multiple British students to be able to take the course, through the high fees.
[00:06:01] Without international students, the British university system as it is currently structured would collapse.
[00:06:09] British universities, especially the better ones and on the most intensive courses, lose money on every British student that enrols, with one recent report putting this figure at an average of £2,500 a year lost on every British student.
[00:06:29] Again, if you went to university and you didn’t pay anything, or you paid a nominal fee–a few hundred Euros or something–you are probably thinking that this sounds ridiculous, and that British universities must be horrendously mismanaged.
[00:06:45] They aren’t. It’s primarily a question of who pays.
[00:06:50] In the UK, the student pays most of it and the government contributes little; in your country, if you paid nothing or a nominal fee, it’s the reverse, the government pays most and you pay a little.
[00:07:05] And the reality is that this fee, nearly £10,000 a year, might be very high compared to most countries, but it isn’t high enough to plug the gap; there is a shortfall between what it costs to deliver most courses and the amount of money that British students pay to take them.
[00:07:27] One reason is that this fee has only been increased once in 12 years, and given the inflation that has happened in this period, it simply isn’t high enough.
[00:07:39] So, universities have been relying on international students to make up the difference.
[00:07:46] These students, as you’ve heard, pay much higher fees, and in many cases, universities are using the profit they make from international students to subsidise the education of domestic students.
[00:08:00] It has worked, so far, but this model is teetering on collapse.
[00:08:07] For one, it makes universities highly dependent on the continued flow of international students.
[00:08:14] Overall at British universities, international students are still very much in the minority, making up just under 12% of the undergraduate population.
[00:08:26] Yet they contribute just under half of university tuition fee income.
[00:08:33] In other words, a small percentage of the student population pays for everyone else.
[00:08:39] This is all good, it’s all fine and dandy when hundreds of thousands of international students want to come to the UK to study, but it is a fragile situation.
[00:08:50] Just a small drop in the number of international students can make the entire system come crashing down.
[00:08:58] And this is what’s happening, to a certain extent, at the moment.
[00:09:04] After years of rising every year, the number of international students enrolling at British universities has started to drop.
[00:09:13] There are a few reasons for this.
[00:09:16] Firstly, Brexit.
[00:09:18] When the UK was part of the European Union, students from EU countries could come and study at British universities and pay the same tuition fees as domestic students. Because many EU students enrolled in less-expensive courses to deliver, for example, humanities subjects, even though they paid the same fees as domestic students, they were still a net benefit to British universities.
[00:09:46] After Brexit, students from EU countries now have to pay international fees.
[00:09:54] And given that universities in EU countries are often highly subsidised or free, someone now has to really want to go to a British university, and more importantly, have parents with deep enough pockets to allow them to do so.
[00:10:10] Unsurprisingly, the number of students from EU countries has plummeted, falling by 67% between 2020 and 2023.
[00:10:21] Yes, the EU students who are coming are paying more for the privilege, but the overall number has dropped so drastically that the total revenue from EU students is significantly down.
[00:10:34] This was something that British universities had suspected would happen ever since the Brexit vote back in 2016, and they had made preparations for it.
[00:10:45] Specifically, trying to attract students from countries such as China, India and Nigeria, large countries with more than enough aspiring parents who would happily pay through the nose to send their child to a British university.
[00:11:02] And at least in the years directly following Brexit, this strategy worked.
[00:11:08] There were just under 13,000 students from Nigeria in 2016, but by 2022 this had jumped to 72,000, a 5 times increase.
[00:11:21] It is a similar story with China and India, and these three countries now make up more than half of all the international students at British universities.
[00:11:34] But clearly, being so reliant on a few countries is risky.
[00:11:40] Any change in diplomatic relations or visa policies, which is particularly high risk with China, could mean that a major source of international students, and therefore university revenue, is cut off in an instant.
[00:11:54] And internal, domestic changes in these countries can have a similar effect.
[00:12:01] In the case of Nigeria, as you may know, there was a currency crisis last year, where the Nigerian currency lost 80% of its value against the British pound, thereby making an already expensive British university five times more expensive than it was before.
[00:12:19] It is a little early to see the full impact of this, as the most recent university statistics haven’t yet been released, but visa applications from Nigeria are down by more than 50% between July 2023 and June 2024, so the number of Nigerian students is likely to have taken a serious haircut.
[00:12:43] And this brings us nicely on to point number three.
[00:12:48] As you may know, immigration has been an increasingly hot potato in British politics over the past few years.
[00:12:56] The previous British government, under Rishi Sunak, tightened the rules on spousal visas, visas for partners and dependents of someone working or studying in the country.
[00:13:09] As a result, it became much harder and more expensive for an international student–someone doing a postgraduate degree for example–to bring their partner or their family with them.
[00:13:20] Clearly, this has done nothing to increase the attractiveness of British universities.
[00:13:28] Imagine you are someone from Nigeria hoping to study in the UK, you have found your dream university and been offered a place on the course, but in between applying and the course starting your currency has collapsed, making it five times more expensive and you then realise that your loved one won’t be able to come with you.
[00:13:50] Or you’re from China or India, and your currency might not have collapsed but you realise that you can’t take your husband or wife, and the entire process of getting a visa has become a lot more complicated and expensive.
[00:14:05] It is hardly surprising that the number of international students has dropped.
[00:14:11] Now, what does this mean?
[00:14:13] Well, the cash cows are no longer so great in number.
[00:14:18] And this has led to some serious problems at British universities.
[00:14:23] According to a recent report, 40% of British universities expect to run a deficit this year. In other words, almost half will lose money.
[00:14:37] And this isn’t a crisis that affects all British universities equally.
[00:14:42] The top-tier universities—places like Oxford, Cambridge, University College London, and the London School of Economics—they are still able to attract a steady stream of international students.
[00:14:55] They have prestigious reputations, strong global rankings, and a long history of academic excellence that appeals to students from all over the world.
[00:15:05] But what about the other universities?
[00:15:07] The less prestigious universities, often outside of London or the South East, they don't have the same pull.
[00:15:15] They can’t charge the same high fees to international students and aren’t as attractive to students from abroad.
[00:15:23] As a result, they are facing significant financial strain.
[00:15:28] It leads to cuts—cuts to academic programmes, cuts to student services, and cuts to staff.
[00:15:35] Lecturers and support staff lose their jobs, class sizes increase, and students feel the impact.
[00:15:42] The quality of education suffers.
[00:15:45] And it’s a vicious downward spiral. Quality decreases therefore they become less attractive, enrolments drop even further, more cuts need to be made, and the cycle repeats.
[00:16:00] Of course, lecturers are affected too.
[00:16:04] Over the past few years, lecturers and other university staff have gone on strike over pay, pensions, and working conditions. The reality is that many of the people working in universities feel underpaid and overworked, and they’re often on insecure short-term contracts with little job stability.
[00:16:28] So, what’s the solution?
[00:16:31] Well, many universities are having to make tough decisions about the courses that they offer.
[00:16:37] If there aren’t enough students on a course, and it loses money year after year, it becomes more likely than ever to be cancelled.
[00:16:47] And there is increasing discussion by politicians about funnelling students into courses that are more likely to have a positive economic impact on the country and away from courses that, statistically speaking, have less economic value, so called “mickey mouse courses” to their critics.
[00:17:07] Universities are now required by law to publish data on things like the percentage of alumni in employment after graduation and their average salary, and–as you might expect–there are some stark differences.
[00:17:22] The average computer science graduate from the University of Oxford has a first-year salary of £52,000, while for the average drama, dance and cinematics graduate from the University of Bristol that number is under £20,000.
[00:17:41] Both of those students, if they are British, domestic students, will have paid exactly the same for their tuition but one will leave with a degree that is significantly more economically valuable than the other.
[00:17:55] Over the course of a lifetime, statistically speaking the former will go on to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in taxes and have a net positive impact on the country’s finances, while the other will not.
[00:18:09] Of course, there is the argument to be made that a country full only of computer scientists, bankers, lawyers and engineers would be a less attractive place to live, and that people should be encouraged to follow their interests and passions.
[00:18:24] After all, that’s what university is about, is it not?
[00:18:28] But there is the counter argument that it is deceptive for an education system to value both degrees equally, and there is enough statistical evidence to show that someone studying a subject like drama, dance and cinematics will lead to a low salary, and they would probably have been better not taking on loans, and instead should have just started some form of vocational training straight away.
[00:18:56] And because this person is unlikely to ever repay the loans for their tuition, which are provided by the government, their university studies are essentially funded by the taxpayer.
[00:19:08] Ultimately, the question is this: should universities primarily serve the economy, or should they provide a broad and diverse education that enriches society in ways that aren’t always measurable in economic terms?
[00:19:24] This is, in some ways, the crux of the UK university crisis.
[00:19:29] It’s not just about money—it’s about the role of universities in the 21st century, and what kind of education we believe is worth investing in.
[00:19:39] Should British students be pushed towards “value for money” degrees in subjects like science and technology, which are more likely to result in higher salaries for them and more economic benefits for the country?
[00:19:52] Or should British students be free to study whatever they want, with their fees being subsidised by masses of international students paying sky-high fees?
[00:20:02] Should a greater financial burden be placed on British students, with domestic fees increasing to match the real cost of tuition?
[00:20:10] Or should the government step up to plug the gap?
[00:20:15] There are many warning signs that the current situation is not sustainable, with almost 1 in 2 British universities losing money every year.
[00:20:26] Clearly, this cannot continue.
[00:20:29] Britain has an almost 1,000-year history of higher education, with the University of Oxford being founded in the year 1096.
[00:20:38] There are now 166 universities in Britain, and not a single one has ever gone bankrupt.
[00:20:47] That is an impressive record, and time will only tell how long it will last.
[00:20:55] OK then, that is it for today's episode on the UK university crisis.
[00:21:00] I hope it's been an interesting one, and if you were wondering about how British universities worked, well that it has shone a little light on the subject.
[00:21:09] As a reminder, this is part one of a three-part mini-series.
[00:21:13] Next up will be a look at private, 1:1 tuition and the concept of genius.
[00:21:18] And in part three we will look into our crystal ball and talk about the future of education.
[00:21:25] You've been listening to English Learning for Curious Minds, by Leonardo English.
[00:21:29] I'm Alastair Budge, you stay safe, and I'll catch you in the next episode.
[00:00:04] Hello, hello hello, and welcome to English Learning for Curious Minds, by Leonardo English.
[00:00:11] The show where you can listen to fascinating stories, and learn weird and wonderful things about the world at the same time as improving your English.
[00:00:20] I'm Alastair Budge, and today is the start of another three-part mini-series, this time on the loose theme of education.
[00:00:30] In part one, today’s episode, we are going to talk about the UK university crisis.
[00:00:35] In part two, we will talk about the history of private tutoring, one-on-one tutoring, and ask ourselves whether it is the reason for the “geniuses” of the past.
[00:00:47] And in part three, we will look into a crystal ball and talk about some of the most interesting ideas about the future of education.
[00:00:56] OK then, let’s get right into it and talk about the UK university crisis.
[00:01:03] When Tony Blair became British Prime Minister in 1997 he proudly said that the top three priorities of his government would be “education, education, education”.
[00:01:18] It was a slogan, but a powerful one.
[00:01:22] After all, who doesn’t like the idea of better schools for children, better training and pay for teachers, and more young people going to university and getting a quality education?
[00:01:34] Since this famous speech, the number of people going to university in the UK has almost doubled.
[00:01:43] There are 2.9 million people studying at universities in the UK, almost 1 in 20 people in the country.
[00:01:51] And as you may know, the UK has some of the best universities in the world.
[00:01:57] Oxford and Cambridge are two that I imagine you will have heard of, but they are just two of the country’s 166 universities, many of which are very high quality.
[00:02:09] In fact, the UK is second only to the United States in terms of the number of universities in the top 100 in the world.
[00:02:19] But there is a growing crisis at British universities, a series of headwinds, dangerous conditions, that threaten to do serious, longstanding damage to the sector, and as a consequence, to the country.
[00:02:34] So, what’s going on?
[00:02:37] Well, first let me tell you about some peculiarities of UK universities, and explain why they are probably a little different from the universities in your country.
[00:02:49] Unlike in many countries, universities in the UK are technically not owned by the government, they aren’t “state” in the same way that most universities in Italy or France or Spain are.
[00:03:02] They are autonomous institutions, which means they manage their own finances, they choose what to teach, and they are responsible for making sure they provide a good education to their students.
[00:03:15] They are run more like a business than a branch of government; it is the responsibility of the university to attract students, deliver courses, and make sure that its income is the same or greater than its expenses.
[00:03:30] In other words, it needs to balance its own books.
[00:03:34] This doesn’t mean that there is no public funding whatsoever; the British government does provide some financial support through research grants and public funds, but this only accounts for around 28% of the income of UK universities.
[00:03:52] So, where does the rest of the money come from, if it’s not the government?
[00:03:57] Well, the students, for the most part.
[00:04:00] Tuition fees, paid directly by university students, make up 53%–just over half–of the total income at British universities.
[00:04:11] As you might know, British universities are expensive to attend.
[00:04:16] If you are from the UK, as an undergraduate you pay £9,250 per year, so that’s around €11,000.
[00:04:27] That’s the maximum you'll pay if you are British, and it’s the same whether you go to the best university in the country or the worst, whether you do an expensive course to deliver, like medicine or veterinary science, or whether you do a less-expensive course, like a humanities subject.
[00:04:46] So, just under €11,000 is the absolute maximum you will pay for your tuition.
[00:04:53] But if you are an international student there is no limit to the amount you might pay.
[00:04:59] International students typically pay between £20,000 and £30,000 per year, so between €25,000 and €35,000.
[00:05:11] And the most expensive course is just under £70,000, or €85,000.
[00:05:18] That’s the undergraduate medicine course at Cambridge, by the way, and it lasts for 6 years, so the tuition fees alone will set back a student almost half a million Euros.
[00:05:32] So the dirty little secret, or not really a secret if you look at the student numbers, is that the tuition fees British students pay are heavily subsidised by international students.
[00:05:46] A Cambridge medical student from China or Saudi Arabia, or anywhere outside Britain for that matter, is essentially paying for multiple British students to be able to take the course, through the high fees.
[00:06:01] Without international students, the British university system as it is currently structured would collapse.
[00:06:09] British universities, especially the better ones and on the most intensive courses, lose money on every British student that enrols, with one recent report putting this figure at an average of £2,500 a year lost on every British student.
[00:06:29] Again, if you went to university and you didn’t pay anything, or you paid a nominal fee–a few hundred Euros or something–you are probably thinking that this sounds ridiculous, and that British universities must be horrendously mismanaged.
[00:06:45] They aren’t. It’s primarily a question of who pays.
[00:06:50] In the UK, the student pays most of it and the government contributes little; in your country, if you paid nothing or a nominal fee, it’s the reverse, the government pays most and you pay a little.
[00:07:05] And the reality is that this fee, nearly £10,000 a year, might be very high compared to most countries, but it isn’t high enough to plug the gap; there is a shortfall between what it costs to deliver most courses and the amount of money that British students pay to take them.
[00:07:27] One reason is that this fee has only been increased once in 12 years, and given the inflation that has happened in this period, it simply isn’t high enough.
[00:07:39] So, universities have been relying on international students to make up the difference.
[00:07:46] These students, as you’ve heard, pay much higher fees, and in many cases, universities are using the profit they make from international students to subsidise the education of domestic students.
[00:08:00] It has worked, so far, but this model is teetering on collapse.
[00:08:07] For one, it makes universities highly dependent on the continued flow of international students.
[00:08:14] Overall at British universities, international students are still very much in the minority, making up just under 12% of the undergraduate population.
[00:08:26] Yet they contribute just under half of university tuition fee income.
[00:08:33] In other words, a small percentage of the student population pays for everyone else.
[00:08:39] This is all good, it’s all fine and dandy when hundreds of thousands of international students want to come to the UK to study, but it is a fragile situation.
[00:08:50] Just a small drop in the number of international students can make the entire system come crashing down.
[00:08:58] And this is what’s happening, to a certain extent, at the moment.
[00:09:04] After years of rising every year, the number of international students enrolling at British universities has started to drop.
[00:09:13] There are a few reasons for this.
[00:09:16] Firstly, Brexit.
[00:09:18] When the UK was part of the European Union, students from EU countries could come and study at British universities and pay the same tuition fees as domestic students. Because many EU students enrolled in less-expensive courses to deliver, for example, humanities subjects, even though they paid the same fees as domestic students, they were still a net benefit to British universities.
[00:09:46] After Brexit, students from EU countries now have to pay international fees.
[00:09:54] And given that universities in EU countries are often highly subsidised or free, someone now has to really want to go to a British university, and more importantly, have parents with deep enough pockets to allow them to do so.
[00:10:10] Unsurprisingly, the number of students from EU countries has plummeted, falling by 67% between 2020 and 2023.
[00:10:21] Yes, the EU students who are coming are paying more for the privilege, but the overall number has dropped so drastically that the total revenue from EU students is significantly down.
[00:10:34] This was something that British universities had suspected would happen ever since the Brexit vote back in 2016, and they had made preparations for it.
[00:10:45] Specifically, trying to attract students from countries such as China, India and Nigeria, large countries with more than enough aspiring parents who would happily pay through the nose to send their child to a British university.
[00:11:02] And at least in the years directly following Brexit, this strategy worked.
[00:11:08] There were just under 13,000 students from Nigeria in 2016, but by 2022 this had jumped to 72,000, a 5 times increase.
[00:11:21] It is a similar story with China and India, and these three countries now make up more than half of all the international students at British universities.
[00:11:34] But clearly, being so reliant on a few countries is risky.
[00:11:40] Any change in diplomatic relations or visa policies, which is particularly high risk with China, could mean that a major source of international students, and therefore university revenue, is cut off in an instant.
[00:11:54] And internal, domestic changes in these countries can have a similar effect.
[00:12:01] In the case of Nigeria, as you may know, there was a currency crisis last year, where the Nigerian currency lost 80% of its value against the British pound, thereby making an already expensive British university five times more expensive than it was before.
[00:12:19] It is a little early to see the full impact of this, as the most recent university statistics haven’t yet been released, but visa applications from Nigeria are down by more than 50% between July 2023 and June 2024, so the number of Nigerian students is likely to have taken a serious haircut.
[00:12:43] And this brings us nicely on to point number three.
[00:12:48] As you may know, immigration has been an increasingly hot potato in British politics over the past few years.
[00:12:56] The previous British government, under Rishi Sunak, tightened the rules on spousal visas, visas for partners and dependents of someone working or studying in the country.
[00:13:09] As a result, it became much harder and more expensive for an international student–someone doing a postgraduate degree for example–to bring their partner or their family with them.
[00:13:20] Clearly, this has done nothing to increase the attractiveness of British universities.
[00:13:28] Imagine you are someone from Nigeria hoping to study in the UK, you have found your dream university and been offered a place on the course, but in between applying and the course starting your currency has collapsed, making it five times more expensive and you then realise that your loved one won’t be able to come with you.
[00:13:50] Or you’re from China or India, and your currency might not have collapsed but you realise that you can’t take your husband or wife, and the entire process of getting a visa has become a lot more complicated and expensive.
[00:14:05] It is hardly surprising that the number of international students has dropped.
[00:14:11] Now, what does this mean?
[00:14:13] Well, the cash cows are no longer so great in number.
[00:14:18] And this has led to some serious problems at British universities.
[00:14:23] According to a recent report, 40% of British universities expect to run a deficit this year. In other words, almost half will lose money.
[00:14:37] And this isn’t a crisis that affects all British universities equally.
[00:14:42] The top-tier universities—places like Oxford, Cambridge, University College London, and the London School of Economics—they are still able to attract a steady stream of international students.
[00:14:55] They have prestigious reputations, strong global rankings, and a long history of academic excellence that appeals to students from all over the world.
[00:15:05] But what about the other universities?
[00:15:07] The less prestigious universities, often outside of London or the South East, they don't have the same pull.
[00:15:15] They can’t charge the same high fees to international students and aren’t as attractive to students from abroad.
[00:15:23] As a result, they are facing significant financial strain.
[00:15:28] It leads to cuts—cuts to academic programmes, cuts to student services, and cuts to staff.
[00:15:35] Lecturers and support staff lose their jobs, class sizes increase, and students feel the impact.
[00:15:42] The quality of education suffers.
[00:15:45] And it’s a vicious downward spiral. Quality decreases therefore they become less attractive, enrolments drop even further, more cuts need to be made, and the cycle repeats.
[00:16:00] Of course, lecturers are affected too.
[00:16:04] Over the past few years, lecturers and other university staff have gone on strike over pay, pensions, and working conditions. The reality is that many of the people working in universities feel underpaid and overworked, and they’re often on insecure short-term contracts with little job stability.
[00:16:28] So, what’s the solution?
[00:16:31] Well, many universities are having to make tough decisions about the courses that they offer.
[00:16:37] If there aren’t enough students on a course, and it loses money year after year, it becomes more likely than ever to be cancelled.
[00:16:47] And there is increasing discussion by politicians about funnelling students into courses that are more likely to have a positive economic impact on the country and away from courses that, statistically speaking, have less economic value, so called “mickey mouse courses” to their critics.
[00:17:07] Universities are now required by law to publish data on things like the percentage of alumni in employment after graduation and their average salary, and–as you might expect–there are some stark differences.
[00:17:22] The average computer science graduate from the University of Oxford has a first-year salary of £52,000, while for the average drama, dance and cinematics graduate from the University of Bristol that number is under £20,000.
[00:17:41] Both of those students, if they are British, domestic students, will have paid exactly the same for their tuition but one will leave with a degree that is significantly more economically valuable than the other.
[00:17:55] Over the course of a lifetime, statistically speaking the former will go on to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in taxes and have a net positive impact on the country’s finances, while the other will not.
[00:18:09] Of course, there is the argument to be made that a country full only of computer scientists, bankers, lawyers and engineers would be a less attractive place to live, and that people should be encouraged to follow their interests and passions.
[00:18:24] After all, that’s what university is about, is it not?
[00:18:28] But there is the counter argument that it is deceptive for an education system to value both degrees equally, and there is enough statistical evidence to show that someone studying a subject like drama, dance and cinematics will lead to a low salary, and they would probably have been better not taking on loans, and instead should have just started some form of vocational training straight away.
[00:18:56] And because this person is unlikely to ever repay the loans for their tuition, which are provided by the government, their university studies are essentially funded by the taxpayer.
[00:19:08] Ultimately, the question is this: should universities primarily serve the economy, or should they provide a broad and diverse education that enriches society in ways that aren’t always measurable in economic terms?
[00:19:24] This is, in some ways, the crux of the UK university crisis.
[00:19:29] It’s not just about money—it’s about the role of universities in the 21st century, and what kind of education we believe is worth investing in.
[00:19:39] Should British students be pushed towards “value for money” degrees in subjects like science and technology, which are more likely to result in higher salaries for them and more economic benefits for the country?
[00:19:52] Or should British students be free to study whatever they want, with their fees being subsidised by masses of international students paying sky-high fees?
[00:20:02] Should a greater financial burden be placed on British students, with domestic fees increasing to match the real cost of tuition?
[00:20:10] Or should the government step up to plug the gap?
[00:20:15] There are many warning signs that the current situation is not sustainable, with almost 1 in 2 British universities losing money every year.
[00:20:26] Clearly, this cannot continue.
[00:20:29] Britain has an almost 1,000-year history of higher education, with the University of Oxford being founded in the year 1096.
[00:20:38] There are now 166 universities in Britain, and not a single one has ever gone bankrupt.
[00:20:47] That is an impressive record, and time will only tell how long it will last.
[00:20:55] OK then, that is it for today's episode on the UK university crisis.
[00:21:00] I hope it's been an interesting one, and if you were wondering about how British universities worked, well that it has shone a little light on the subject.
[00:21:09] As a reminder, this is part one of a three-part mini-series.
[00:21:13] Next up will be a look at private, 1:1 tuition and the concept of genius.
[00:21:18] And in part three we will look into our crystal ball and talk about the future of education.
[00:21:25] You've been listening to English Learning for Curious Minds, by Leonardo English.
[00:21:29] I'm Alastair Budge, you stay safe, and I'll catch you in the next episode.
[00:00:04] Hello, hello hello, and welcome to English Learning for Curious Minds, by Leonardo English.
[00:00:11] The show where you can listen to fascinating stories, and learn weird and wonderful things about the world at the same time as improving your English.
[00:00:20] I'm Alastair Budge, and today is the start of another three-part mini-series, this time on the loose theme of education.
[00:00:30] In part one, today’s episode, we are going to talk about the UK university crisis.
[00:00:35] In part two, we will talk about the history of private tutoring, one-on-one tutoring, and ask ourselves whether it is the reason for the “geniuses” of the past.
[00:00:47] And in part three, we will look into a crystal ball and talk about some of the most interesting ideas about the future of education.
[00:00:56] OK then, let’s get right into it and talk about the UK university crisis.
[00:01:03] When Tony Blair became British Prime Minister in 1997 he proudly said that the top three priorities of his government would be “education, education, education”.
[00:01:18] It was a slogan, but a powerful one.
[00:01:22] After all, who doesn’t like the idea of better schools for children, better training and pay for teachers, and more young people going to university and getting a quality education?
[00:01:34] Since this famous speech, the number of people going to university in the UK has almost doubled.
[00:01:43] There are 2.9 million people studying at universities in the UK, almost 1 in 20 people in the country.
[00:01:51] And as you may know, the UK has some of the best universities in the world.
[00:01:57] Oxford and Cambridge are two that I imagine you will have heard of, but they are just two of the country’s 166 universities, many of which are very high quality.
[00:02:09] In fact, the UK is second only to the United States in terms of the number of universities in the top 100 in the world.
[00:02:19] But there is a growing crisis at British universities, a series of headwinds, dangerous conditions, that threaten to do serious, longstanding damage to the sector, and as a consequence, to the country.
[00:02:34] So, what’s going on?
[00:02:37] Well, first let me tell you about some peculiarities of UK universities, and explain why they are probably a little different from the universities in your country.
[00:02:49] Unlike in many countries, universities in the UK are technically not owned by the government, they aren’t “state” in the same way that most universities in Italy or France or Spain are.
[00:03:02] They are autonomous institutions, which means they manage their own finances, they choose what to teach, and they are responsible for making sure they provide a good education to their students.
[00:03:15] They are run more like a business than a branch of government; it is the responsibility of the university to attract students, deliver courses, and make sure that its income is the same or greater than its expenses.
[00:03:30] In other words, it needs to balance its own books.
[00:03:34] This doesn’t mean that there is no public funding whatsoever; the British government does provide some financial support through research grants and public funds, but this only accounts for around 28% of the income of UK universities.
[00:03:52] So, where does the rest of the money come from, if it’s not the government?
[00:03:57] Well, the students, for the most part.
[00:04:00] Tuition fees, paid directly by university students, make up 53%–just over half–of the total income at British universities.
[00:04:11] As you might know, British universities are expensive to attend.
[00:04:16] If you are from the UK, as an undergraduate you pay £9,250 per year, so that’s around €11,000.
[00:04:27] That’s the maximum you'll pay if you are British, and it’s the same whether you go to the best university in the country or the worst, whether you do an expensive course to deliver, like medicine or veterinary science, or whether you do a less-expensive course, like a humanities subject.
[00:04:46] So, just under €11,000 is the absolute maximum you will pay for your tuition.
[00:04:53] But if you are an international student there is no limit to the amount you might pay.
[00:04:59] International students typically pay between £20,000 and £30,000 per year, so between €25,000 and €35,000.
[00:05:11] And the most expensive course is just under £70,000, or €85,000.
[00:05:18] That’s the undergraduate medicine course at Cambridge, by the way, and it lasts for 6 years, so the tuition fees alone will set back a student almost half a million Euros.
[00:05:32] So the dirty little secret, or not really a secret if you look at the student numbers, is that the tuition fees British students pay are heavily subsidised by international students.
[00:05:46] A Cambridge medical student from China or Saudi Arabia, or anywhere outside Britain for that matter, is essentially paying for multiple British students to be able to take the course, through the high fees.
[00:06:01] Without international students, the British university system as it is currently structured would collapse.
[00:06:09] British universities, especially the better ones and on the most intensive courses, lose money on every British student that enrols, with one recent report putting this figure at an average of £2,500 a year lost on every British student.
[00:06:29] Again, if you went to university and you didn’t pay anything, or you paid a nominal fee–a few hundred Euros or something–you are probably thinking that this sounds ridiculous, and that British universities must be horrendously mismanaged.
[00:06:45] They aren’t. It’s primarily a question of who pays.
[00:06:50] In the UK, the student pays most of it and the government contributes little; in your country, if you paid nothing or a nominal fee, it’s the reverse, the government pays most and you pay a little.
[00:07:05] And the reality is that this fee, nearly £10,000 a year, might be very high compared to most countries, but it isn’t high enough to plug the gap; there is a shortfall between what it costs to deliver most courses and the amount of money that British students pay to take them.
[00:07:27] One reason is that this fee has only been increased once in 12 years, and given the inflation that has happened in this period, it simply isn’t high enough.
[00:07:39] So, universities have been relying on international students to make up the difference.
[00:07:46] These students, as you’ve heard, pay much higher fees, and in many cases, universities are using the profit they make from international students to subsidise the education of domestic students.
[00:08:00] It has worked, so far, but this model is teetering on collapse.
[00:08:07] For one, it makes universities highly dependent on the continued flow of international students.
[00:08:14] Overall at British universities, international students are still very much in the minority, making up just under 12% of the undergraduate population.
[00:08:26] Yet they contribute just under half of university tuition fee income.
[00:08:33] In other words, a small percentage of the student population pays for everyone else.
[00:08:39] This is all good, it’s all fine and dandy when hundreds of thousands of international students want to come to the UK to study, but it is a fragile situation.
[00:08:50] Just a small drop in the number of international students can make the entire system come crashing down.
[00:08:58] And this is what’s happening, to a certain extent, at the moment.
[00:09:04] After years of rising every year, the number of international students enrolling at British universities has started to drop.
[00:09:13] There are a few reasons for this.
[00:09:16] Firstly, Brexit.
[00:09:18] When the UK was part of the European Union, students from EU countries could come and study at British universities and pay the same tuition fees as domestic students. Because many EU students enrolled in less-expensive courses to deliver, for example, humanities subjects, even though they paid the same fees as domestic students, they were still a net benefit to British universities.
[00:09:46] After Brexit, students from EU countries now have to pay international fees.
[00:09:54] And given that universities in EU countries are often highly subsidised or free, someone now has to really want to go to a British university, and more importantly, have parents with deep enough pockets to allow them to do so.
[00:10:10] Unsurprisingly, the number of students from EU countries has plummeted, falling by 67% between 2020 and 2023.
[00:10:21] Yes, the EU students who are coming are paying more for the privilege, but the overall number has dropped so drastically that the total revenue from EU students is significantly down.
[00:10:34] This was something that British universities had suspected would happen ever since the Brexit vote back in 2016, and they had made preparations for it.
[00:10:45] Specifically, trying to attract students from countries such as China, India and Nigeria, large countries with more than enough aspiring parents who would happily pay through the nose to send their child to a British university.
[00:11:02] And at least in the years directly following Brexit, this strategy worked.
[00:11:08] There were just under 13,000 students from Nigeria in 2016, but by 2022 this had jumped to 72,000, a 5 times increase.
[00:11:21] It is a similar story with China and India, and these three countries now make up more than half of all the international students at British universities.
[00:11:34] But clearly, being so reliant on a few countries is risky.
[00:11:40] Any change in diplomatic relations or visa policies, which is particularly high risk with China, could mean that a major source of international students, and therefore university revenue, is cut off in an instant.
[00:11:54] And internal, domestic changes in these countries can have a similar effect.
[00:12:01] In the case of Nigeria, as you may know, there was a currency crisis last year, where the Nigerian currency lost 80% of its value against the British pound, thereby making an already expensive British university five times more expensive than it was before.
[00:12:19] It is a little early to see the full impact of this, as the most recent university statistics haven’t yet been released, but visa applications from Nigeria are down by more than 50% between July 2023 and June 2024, so the number of Nigerian students is likely to have taken a serious haircut.
[00:12:43] And this brings us nicely on to point number three.
[00:12:48] As you may know, immigration has been an increasingly hot potato in British politics over the past few years.
[00:12:56] The previous British government, under Rishi Sunak, tightened the rules on spousal visas, visas for partners and dependents of someone working or studying in the country.
[00:13:09] As a result, it became much harder and more expensive for an international student–someone doing a postgraduate degree for example–to bring their partner or their family with them.
[00:13:20] Clearly, this has done nothing to increase the attractiveness of British universities.
[00:13:28] Imagine you are someone from Nigeria hoping to study in the UK, you have found your dream university and been offered a place on the course, but in between applying and the course starting your currency has collapsed, making it five times more expensive and you then realise that your loved one won’t be able to come with you.
[00:13:50] Or you’re from China or India, and your currency might not have collapsed but you realise that you can’t take your husband or wife, and the entire process of getting a visa has become a lot more complicated and expensive.
[00:14:05] It is hardly surprising that the number of international students has dropped.
[00:14:11] Now, what does this mean?
[00:14:13] Well, the cash cows are no longer so great in number.
[00:14:18] And this has led to some serious problems at British universities.
[00:14:23] According to a recent report, 40% of British universities expect to run a deficit this year. In other words, almost half will lose money.
[00:14:37] And this isn’t a crisis that affects all British universities equally.
[00:14:42] The top-tier universities—places like Oxford, Cambridge, University College London, and the London School of Economics—they are still able to attract a steady stream of international students.
[00:14:55] They have prestigious reputations, strong global rankings, and a long history of academic excellence that appeals to students from all over the world.
[00:15:05] But what about the other universities?
[00:15:07] The less prestigious universities, often outside of London or the South East, they don't have the same pull.
[00:15:15] They can’t charge the same high fees to international students and aren’t as attractive to students from abroad.
[00:15:23] As a result, they are facing significant financial strain.
[00:15:28] It leads to cuts—cuts to academic programmes, cuts to student services, and cuts to staff.
[00:15:35] Lecturers and support staff lose their jobs, class sizes increase, and students feel the impact.
[00:15:42] The quality of education suffers.
[00:15:45] And it’s a vicious downward spiral. Quality decreases therefore they become less attractive, enrolments drop even further, more cuts need to be made, and the cycle repeats.
[00:16:00] Of course, lecturers are affected too.
[00:16:04] Over the past few years, lecturers and other university staff have gone on strike over pay, pensions, and working conditions. The reality is that many of the people working in universities feel underpaid and overworked, and they’re often on insecure short-term contracts with little job stability.
[00:16:28] So, what’s the solution?
[00:16:31] Well, many universities are having to make tough decisions about the courses that they offer.
[00:16:37] If there aren’t enough students on a course, and it loses money year after year, it becomes more likely than ever to be cancelled.
[00:16:47] And there is increasing discussion by politicians about funnelling students into courses that are more likely to have a positive economic impact on the country and away from courses that, statistically speaking, have less economic value, so called “mickey mouse courses” to their critics.
[00:17:07] Universities are now required by law to publish data on things like the percentage of alumni in employment after graduation and their average salary, and–as you might expect–there are some stark differences.
[00:17:22] The average computer science graduate from the University of Oxford has a first-year salary of £52,000, while for the average drama, dance and cinematics graduate from the University of Bristol that number is under £20,000.
[00:17:41] Both of those students, if they are British, domestic students, will have paid exactly the same for their tuition but one will leave with a degree that is significantly more economically valuable than the other.
[00:17:55] Over the course of a lifetime, statistically speaking the former will go on to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in taxes and have a net positive impact on the country’s finances, while the other will not.
[00:18:09] Of course, there is the argument to be made that a country full only of computer scientists, bankers, lawyers and engineers would be a less attractive place to live, and that people should be encouraged to follow their interests and passions.
[00:18:24] After all, that’s what university is about, is it not?
[00:18:28] But there is the counter argument that it is deceptive for an education system to value both degrees equally, and there is enough statistical evidence to show that someone studying a subject like drama, dance and cinematics will lead to a low salary, and they would probably have been better not taking on loans, and instead should have just started some form of vocational training straight away.
[00:18:56] And because this person is unlikely to ever repay the loans for their tuition, which are provided by the government, their university studies are essentially funded by the taxpayer.
[00:19:08] Ultimately, the question is this: should universities primarily serve the economy, or should they provide a broad and diverse education that enriches society in ways that aren’t always measurable in economic terms?
[00:19:24] This is, in some ways, the crux of the UK university crisis.
[00:19:29] It’s not just about money—it’s about the role of universities in the 21st century, and what kind of education we believe is worth investing in.
[00:19:39] Should British students be pushed towards “value for money” degrees in subjects like science and technology, which are more likely to result in higher salaries for them and more economic benefits for the country?
[00:19:52] Or should British students be free to study whatever they want, with their fees being subsidised by masses of international students paying sky-high fees?
[00:20:02] Should a greater financial burden be placed on British students, with domestic fees increasing to match the real cost of tuition?
[00:20:10] Or should the government step up to plug the gap?
[00:20:15] There are many warning signs that the current situation is not sustainable, with almost 1 in 2 British universities losing money every year.
[00:20:26] Clearly, this cannot continue.
[00:20:29] Britain has an almost 1,000-year history of higher education, with the University of Oxford being founded in the year 1096.
[00:20:38] There are now 166 universities in Britain, and not a single one has ever gone bankrupt.
[00:20:47] That is an impressive record, and time will only tell how long it will last.
[00:20:55] OK then, that is it for today's episode on the UK university crisis.
[00:21:00] I hope it's been an interesting one, and if you were wondering about how British universities worked, well that it has shone a little light on the subject.
[00:21:09] As a reminder, this is part one of a three-part mini-series.
[00:21:13] Next up will be a look at private, 1:1 tuition and the concept of genius.
[00:21:18] And in part three we will look into our crystal ball and talk about the future of education.
[00:21:25] You've been listening to English Learning for Curious Minds, by Leonardo English.
[00:21:29] I'm Alastair Budge, you stay safe, and I'll catch you in the next episode.
