Business will be big loser in university funding cuts
22 October 2010
UCU today (Friday) said planned cuts to university teaching budgets would have a devastating effect on local businesses.
Business schools generate £2 billion in direct income for the UK economy with a direct impact of some £7 billion, according to a report from the Association of Business Schools.
The union said the government had to think again about the real impact of its punitive funding cuts agenda. In the spending review, George Osborne announced that higher education teaching budgets would be cut by over 75%, with protection only available for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.
The union warned that such devastating cuts would impact across the country on the vast majority of courses. Under the plans, courses like business studies will not be protected and UCU warned that without funding many subjects and departments could be axed, to the detriment of local students, businesses and the economy.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "Slashing teaching budgets is incredibly short-sighted and will threaten local and regional provision in a host of key areas, including business studies. The knock-on effect will be incredibly damaging to local economies and will come back and haunt the country.
"The research underlines the value of funding a wide breadth of subjects at our universities. The government has to think again about its plans and realise exactly what the true impact will be. Without key state support courses and departments will close and it will be the economy and the country who are the losers."
The union said the government had to think again about the real impact of its punitive funding cuts agenda. In the spending review, George Osborne announced that higher education teaching budgets would be cut by over 75%, with protection only available for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.
The union warned that such devastating cuts would impact across the country on the vast majority of courses. Under the plans, courses like business studies will not be protected and UCU warned that without funding many subjects and departments could be axed, to the detriment of local students, businesses and the economy.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "Slashing teaching budgets is incredibly short-sighted and will threaten local and regional provision in a host of key areas, including business studies. The knock-on effect will be incredibly damaging to local economies and will come back and haunt the country.
"The research underlines the value of funding a wide breadth of subjects at our universities. The government has to think again about its plans and realise exactly what the true impact will be. Without key state support courses and departments will close and it will be the economy and the country who are the losers."
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