Job cut fears at Welsh universities
Martin Shipton
Teaching staff in Welsh universities fear significant job cuts will be proposed following this week’s announcement by the Welsh Government of reduced funding for higher education.
In its final allocation of funds before being replaced by a new body at the beginning of August, HEFCW (Higher Education Funding Council Wales) would reduce from £219.3m in 2023-24 to £197.8m in 2024-25.
Grants to individual universities are being cut by £1.1m at Aberystwyth; £600k at Bangor; £3.7m at Cardiff; £400k at Cardiff Met; £1m at the Open University; £2.4m at Swansea £1.2m at the University of South Wales; £800k at University of Wales Trinity St David’s; and £300k at Wrexham.
Some overall HEFCW budget lines are being cut significantly, with strategic investment being more than halved from £12.0m to £5.7m. Drilling down to see what exactly is being cut, a regional investment fund worth £3.4m in 2023-24 is being cut entirely in 2024-25.
Likewise, a strategic development fund has been cut from £1.4m to nothing over the same period.
And a well-being and hardship fund that was worth £2.3m in 2023-24 is no longer funded in 2024-25.
Bursaries
Postgraduate taught (PGT) Master’s bursaries have also virtually disappeared. A statement on HEFCW’s website says: “These aimed to increase the number of Welsh graduates who remain in or return to Wales to undertake a PGT Master’s degree in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM) related subjects, and PGT Master’s degrees studied through the medium of Welsh. These also provided bursary funding for those studying for a Master’s degree who were aged 60 or over.
“We no longer receive a grant from the Welsh Government to fund these bursaries, with the exception of a ring-fenced amount of £0.8m for any remaining continuing part-time bursaries.”
In 2023-24, the amount set aside for such bursaries was £3.1m.
Cuts
A member of the University and College Union at Cardiff University, who didn’t want to be named, said: “Obviously these funding cuts are going to impact on staff. Everybody is afraid for their jobs and worried about when cuts will be announced.
“The sector has had a terrible time in recent years. I’ve been on strike five times in the last four years, mainly about cuts to our pension fund but also about the extra workload being piled on us.
“The business model for universities was very much determined by the Tories, and was based on increasing international student fees and using the revenue to support the core funding of courses. Having increased the number of overseas students paying hefty fees, the same Tory government thought it was a good idea to crack down on international students because of their preoccupation with the need to cut immigration numbers. That’s having a significant impact on university revenues and is compounding the problem caused by government funding cuts.
“The union stands for a return to the days of no tuition fees so as to give everyone the opportunity to study in higher education without having to pile up huge debts that in many cases will never be repaid.
“The sector, together with the Welsh Government, needs to come up with a funding model that works. We’ll have to wait and see, but it doesn’t seem as if the new government in Westminster is going to be providing the sector with the money it needs.” Commenting on HEFCW’s last funding announcement, Bethan Owen, the body’s interim chief executive, said: “The funding picture for education remains challenging, but stable and sustainable investment in higher education teaching and research really is key to the nation’s social and economic success.
“We will continue to enable a well-regulated and well-regarded higher education sector as we move into Medr, the Commission for Tertiary Education and Research, from August 1. Medr will inherit this funding settlement from us, and we are planning for as smooth a transition as possible into the new organisation.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We recognise the financial pressure higher education institutions in Wales and across the UK are under. As universities are independent organisations, they are managing their budgets in a range of ways. Universities make their own decisions on adjusting tuition fees based on the terms and conditions of their contracts with students and applicants.”
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Same photograph, same old story 2-3 years down the line…!
The university sector was completely ignored during the General Election, There isn’t a clear vision (or any vision) for higher education in our nation. When did you last hear a politician address the need for a strategy for Welsh universities that emphasises our unique history, culture, language and the remarkable strengths we have in life sciences, semiconductors, medical technology, sports science, etc? We have so much talent in our nation but the people in charge are clueless when it comes to nurturing it and properly funding it.
The final quote from the Welsh Government implies universities are nothing to do with them. ‘…Universities are independant organisations… making their own decisions etc ‘ they say. As if universities are not subject to external influences or government policies. More nonsense from Labour in the Senedd. The impact from the demise of Welsh Universities will affect us all and particularly the young. How can we ever hope to be prosperous with a declining underfunded higher education sector and a Welsh government that couldn’t give a toss.
Welsh independence isn’t a magic wand to cure all our problems, but it would enable us to create an environment where we could design our own HE policy free from the Tories. We all know the Tories will be back in 5 or 10 years time to continue their destruction of our public services. Wake up Cymru, there is a different future that doesn’t involve the Tory scum having such a strong influence on our country. Universities are a vital part of creating future prosperity for our country.
Totally blinded by hatred for the Tories. Do you realise the Senedd is run by Labour?
Are you honestly trying to say that Labour are worse than the Tories? I don’t vote for either.
Where’ve you been for the last 14 years?
How many non-jobs do they have with words like ‘gender’, ‘diversity’, and ‘inclusivity’ in the title? They could get rid of every one of them tomorrow and nobody’d notice.
There are loads of parasitic roles within the education sector, e.g overloaded finance and admin functions with pumped up salaries which is an insult to the academic “hard core” who should be the better paid team members. Then we have those “top cats” who enjoy comparing salaries and benefits with the private sector but rely heavily on state finance and a lop sided market place. So much reconfiguring to do but no one will have the guts to do it unless a big institution gets shut down.
Based on Hesa expenditure figures, a smaller proportion of Welsh uni expenditure goes on professional staff than universities in the rest of the UK. Similarly, we have a higher proportion of spend on academic staff than universities in the rest of the UK.