Rather than trying to shut universities, we should restore them to their true purpose

Modern Britain needs young people with degrees — here’s how to make sure they still have somewhere they can study for them

- Sam Freedman

There’s a strange cognitive dissonance about the role of universities in modern Britain.

The number of young people applying keeps rising and the vast majority of parents want their children to attend. Employers continue to require degrees for most skilled jobs. In many towns universities are one of the largest employers and a source of pride.

But at the same time almost half of Britons think there are too many graduates, so they have become something of a political pariah. Spokespeople for all parties instead line up to emphasise a commitment to boosting vocational education, trying to appeal to older voters’ nostalgic belief that we can recreate the industrial apprenticeships of the mid-20th century. (Not that they ever fund further education properly when given the chance.) Universities’ liberal values have also turned them into punching bags, accused of infecting the young with “wokery”.

This disconnect has left the sector unable to compete with the NHS or schools when it comes to receiving public money, or when governments have to weigh the interests of higher education against other priorities such as immigration. As a result, a large number of universities are in serious financial trouble. Just under half will be in deficit this year, and this is after multiple rounds of restructuring. It’s not just the newer institutions making cuts: venerable Russell Group universities are firing professors and culling departments. Even Cambridge has made some staff redundant this year.

The reasons for this financial distress stretch back to the coalition government's 2012 increase in student loan payments. Initially this led to a big cash boost, and something of a spending spree on dilapidated buildings, but the maximum loan was capped at £9,000 (with one increase to £9,250 in 2017). This meant that, thanks to inflation, the effective level of the fee fell by a third over time.