Thousands more university jobs cut as financial crisis deepens
According to a recent study by the University and College Union (UCU), universities have collectively reported more than 12,000 job layoffs in the last year. According to the union, additional cost savings made in the same period would equal to a further 3,000 jobs, but universities have yet to announce whether these savings can be made by layoffing employees. Members of UCU will vote on a national strike move later this month after a 1. 4% pay offer made over the summer. Employers claim that the bid
but that it is theclearly does not represent the true value employers place on employees,
only appropriate optionconsidering the financial hardship facing the higher education market.
According to the Office for Students, four out of ten English universities are now estimated to be in financial trouble. Both employers must make difficult decisions such as redundancies and restructures carefully considered,
according to Raj Jethwa, chief executive of the Universities and College Employers Association (UCEA), although they were hoping to do so in a
brutal,open and fair manner. However, UCU general secretary Jo Grady characterized the layoffs as
adding that employees had beendemoralized, burnt, and furious
and thatundervalued and poorly served
no substitute for solid governmentstudents were feeling the consequences as well. She told the Today show that there was
destroying higher education. The government said it had taken theto address the financial challenges and that the new model was
tough but necessary decisionto raise tuition fees last year to raise student salaries last year, and that further reforms in new legislation would be announced shortly.
'I will have to live with my mum in my forties'
Dr Zak Hughes, a chemistry lecturer at the University of Bradford, is in danger of redundancy.
he says. Zak, who has been teaching at the university since 2018, says if he loses his work, he could go back home to live with his mother.There are a lot of anxious and upset people who are struggling to cope with it both within the classroom and also more broadly throughout the organization,
I won't be able to pay my rent,he says,
Even if they lost their jobs, people could work at another company. That's not happening now,I will be in my forties and staying back at home. And if the 44-year-old maintains his position, the university's chemistry program is being phased out, with similar closures around the country. Zak claims that this puts the opportunities for him and his coworkers in jeopardy.
he says.They're obviously not looking at the end of a career in academia but rather the end.
students are worried about what's going to happen next.Sanskrity Baraili, a sabbatical officer at Bradford's students' union, says she has already seen the effects of cuts on students, particularly in support services such as cleaning teams and disability services. Although she believes the layoffs result from a larger problem in higher education,
a university spokesperson said.We are trying to make cost-cuts to shield the student experience and ensure we have positive outcomes for graduates like many other universities,
our primary aim remains placing students first and broadening access to higher education.They said they had expanded the student support programs, adding that
they said, including regularly reviewing courses withThe university owed it to ensure that it remained financially viable,
swift and decisive action to solve the sector's challenges.persistently low enrollment such as chemistry. They urged the government to take
'I'd have had second thoughts about uni if I knew'
According to the University of Edinburgh, the University has revealed plans to make£140 million in layoffs, equivalent to about 1,800 workers. According to Caspar Cubitt, who is researching theology, the uncertainty has put all of us on alert.
There's a lot of gossip that swirls around you,he says.
When you write back to your mother and dad and ask how uni is going, you say, 'Well, my degree is in danger.
I would have had second thoughts [about going to Edinburgh] if I knew that this was how they handle budget issues and that is how they manage finances,While the 22-year-old claims he is still getting the same amount of help from his department, he has discovered that access to study spaces and module choices has been restricted. He is now worried about what future cuts might mean for two years as a university professor.
fully open about the urgent steps we must take to protect the University's future.he says. The University of Edinburgh's principal and vice chancellor, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, said the university had been
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