【New Crown Pneumonia】British universities trapped in financial difficulties The government needs education industry policies

01 point of view

Written by: Review Editor Room

2020-07-10 08:00

The British think tank Finance Institute (IFS) recently said that due to the global epidemic, the number of international students has plummeted, and the income of well-known universities that usually rely on international students as a source of income will drop significantly. IFS researchers estimate that unless government financial assistance is provided, at least 13 universities in the UK are likely to face bankruptcy, compared with 7% of 178 universities.

The report pointed out that 10 universities in England, 21 universities in Scotland and 1 university in Northern Ireland are facing financial difficulties. A spokesman for the National Student Union of the United Kingdom mentioned that "the work of universities and thousands of teaching staff is at risk."

International students lose 10 billion after the UK

Universities rely on international students and self-financed courses, which was originally an important part of education industrialization. The ideal industrialization of education can also achieve a win-win situation for many parties, including bringing additional resources and output value to universities and society. Take the United Kingdom as an example, the output value of the education industry in 2019 is as high as 73.1 billion pounds, which supports about 3% of the country’s employed population. And more students have access to better education. Research cooperation between companies and universities has also promoted technological development and technology landing. At the same time, universities can open more laboratories, provide more jobs, and drive the local economy. Wait.

However, due to the impact of the epidemic, IFS research has shown that international students have become "highly uncertain", which will result in an estimated loss of between 3 billion and 19 billion pounds, which is 7.5% to 50% of the industry's annual income. The role of the government is particularly important to balance the development direction of industrialization and avoid excessive influence by market changes. Jo Grady, secretary general of the British University and Colleges Union, also mentioned that the government's support plan can help secure employment.

British university students are generally dissatisfied with the high tuition fees. In recent years, there have been demonstrations demanding that the Conservative government provide free university education through tax increases. (VCG)

Both quantity and quality must be the best of both worlds

More fundamentally, in the process of education industrialization, we must also ensure the quality of teaching, so as not to be reduced to "academy" or "pheasant university" for admission. Therefore, the government can formulate more policies related to the commercialization of education, and standardize the school not to save costs without sacrificing teaching quality and teachers’ labor rights. In this way, if the school can maintain the basic teaching quality, through other methods to increase profits to create more resources, it is a good thing for the students, schools and society.

In view of the current crisis of British universities, the National Student Union, the British University and College Alliance are actively calling on the government to intervene. Looking back at Hong Kong, the government also regards education as one of the six industries that enjoy obvious advantages. There are nearly 20,000 non-local students in the eight funded universities, accounting for about 18% of the total number of students. Hong Kong should learn from this and plan ahead to avoid the undesirable situation in Britain.

Subsidized sub-degrees are in short supply. The popularization of post-secondary education cannot be market-led

Reinvigorating vocational education, vocational university, and vocational high school should go both ways

【Greater Bay Area】Hong Kong schools' flags should be inserted into the north and the trend should not forget the industrialization of local education

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New Crown Pneumonia Education Education Reform College Students 01 Opinions