JENNI MURRAY: University made me - but this is why my heart breaks for today's students...
By Jenni Murray Published: 12:11, 25 July 2024 | Updated: 12:11, 25 July 2024 e-mail View comments Every year at this time, young school leavers wait on tenterhooks for their A-level results. Will they have achieved the requisite grades for the course of their choice? Now that's normal anxiety. But this year it's different — because many can't be sure the course they've applied for will even exist by the time term starts in just a few weeks.
Nor can they be absolutely certain the university they've chosen will still be functioning. Might it have gone bankrupt? Jo Grady, chief executive of the University and College Union, has begged for financial help from the new government to 'stave off catastrophe'. 'We don't think parents and prospective students understand the total mess some of our universities are in,' she said.
Jo Grady, chief executive of the University and College Union, has begged for financial help from the new government to 'stave off catastrophe' There are 66 universities identified as being in big trouble. At the top of the list are Goldsmiths, University of London , Kent, York and Winchester. For too long, universities have relied on the huge fees — around £35,000 a year — paid by foreign students, compared with the £9,250 paid by British students .
But the number of foreign students applying has gone down and that's left many in dire straits. Regardl.