Reduce the number of Welsh universities, says right-wing think tank

Martin Shipton

The Welsh university sector is “a bloated, inefficient, and unsustainable relic of outdated thinking – one that traps young people in debt, misaligns with the economy, and prioritises participation over purpose” according to a new report from a right-wing think tank.

The Prydain Centre’s report, entitled The University Industrial Complex, argues that Wales’ eight universities have become a “credential conveyor belt”, with more than 135,000 students “being funnelled through institutions increasingly geared toward revenue, not rigorous learning”.

The result, claims the report, is spiralling graduate debt, low-value degrees, and a growing mismatch between education and employability.

Key findings of the report include:

£37,000+ average debt per graduate, even though one third are in non-graduate jobs a decade on;

135,000 students in a country of just 3.1 million—a disproportionately high participation rate;

Universities have become visa mills and credential factories, prioritising foreign revenue over educational purpose;

Whole departments are closing, and campuses are being shuttered, as financial instability bites.

The report outlines what it describes as “a bold, transformative blueprint for Welsh higher education, modelled on the reformist legacy of Harvard’s Charles W. Eliot”, whose elective study, rigorous standards and intellectual merit were said to have turned a provincial college into an educational powerhouse.

Its proposed reforms include:

Cutting the number of universities from eight to three, each with a distinct mission. Cardiff would have research excellence across STEM and humanities; Swansea would specialise in applied sciences and industry partnerships; Aberystwyth/Bangor would concentrate on cultural and environmental leadership. The report statesL “Consolidation focusses funding, attracts top global talent, and builds institutions of genuine prestige.”

Halving student numbers by capping admissions to 65,000 to match economic need and academic suitability; raising entry standards and prioritising degrees in STEM, healthcare, and critical sectors; and replacing mass enrolment with merit-based selection and pathways that reward genuine talent.

Democratising knowledge through a “digital knowledge hub”, creating a nationwide online learning platform providing free or low-cost access to courses, lectures, and forums, open to all, debt-free; forging a partnership with the newly consolidated institutions and private-sector ed-tech leaders; and replacing the outdated “university experience” with a lifelong learning culture that’s modern, flexible, and radically inclusive.

Reconnecting learning with real-world skills, redirecting students toward apprenticeships, vocational routes, and online micro-credentials that actually match market demand; and ending the fixation with paper degrees by giving young people tools to thrive without incurring life-altering debt.

‘Parasitic husk’

The report’s author Chris Harries said: “A once proud sector has been reduced to being a parasitic husk on the verge of collapse. Rather than accept that not all studies and endeavours in learning are of equal value and consequence, the sector has chosen a different path that promises its own destruction.

“The diagnosis is clear: this is a market failure writ large. Resources are misallocated, local economies are misshapen, and the meritocratic promise of education is lost in a sea of mediocrity. A distinction must be drawn between the pursuit of knowledge and university study. Wales does not need more graduates with paper qualifications—it needs a rethink. Strip back the bloat, renewed focus on quality over quantity, and demand universities prove their worth, not just their weight. The alternative is a generation betrayed by a system that has forgotten its purposes. This isn’t education – it’s exploitation.

“We’ve created a generation weighed down by debt, false promises, and degrees with no real-world value. It’s time to stop selling university as a default and start restoring it as a mark of excellence.”

Failing

The report concludes: “As it stands, the university sector in Wales is failing. Institutions are plagued by the consequences of over expansion, incidental side-effects of education are routinely mistaken for its true purpose. This is to the detriment of both individuals and wider society as we live with the consequence of well intentioned policy that is incontrovertibly failing. This paper has outlined a pragmatic yet radical agenda for reform: one of consolidation, a reduction in student numbers, and breaking the perceived link that university education is the only path for learning and knowledge.

“These measures seek to dismantle the status quo, replacing it with an ecosystem of education that prioritises quality, relevance, and individual empowerment. Imagine a higher education sector that commands the prestige of Harvard, producing graduates who fuel economic growth rather than becoming mere statistics in oversaturated job markets. By capping admissions and raising entry standards, we can ensure universities nurture excellence, not mediocrity, aligning output with Wales’ needs, not surplus graduates condemned with low-value degrees.

“Meanwhile, the Digital Knowledge Hub allows the wider population to pursue knowledge without the financial shackles and debt concerns of university study. This should enable the pursuit of knowledge, liberated from the three-year credential mill. Above all such reforms, empowers individuals, placing the onus on students to justify their educational choices and offering the wider populace the means to learn independently.

“Candidly this is the end of state-enabled mediocrity; it’s a bold reassertion of personal responsibility and economic realism. The Welsh Government must act decisively. We urge them to adopt this vision, starting with a pilot of the Digital Knowledge Hub. This trial can test proof of concept and scalability, refining it ultimately for national rollout. The alternative the status quo condemns Wales to stagnation.

“Wales can craft a university sector that rivals the world’s best, provided it has the courage to undertake radical change.”