In protest of Cardiff University’s plans to eliminate 400 jobs and several courses, hundreds of people have gathered outside the Senedd.
As members of the Senedd gather ready to discuss the Welsh government’s draft budget, speakers at the event, which was organized by the University and College Union (UCU), have urged ministers to intervene and provide additional cash for the industry.
Vikki Howells, the minister of higher education, has stated that there is no more funding for universities, but she is talking with her UK government counterparts about reforming the industry.
According to Vice Chancellor Wendy Larner, Cardiff University needed to close a £31 million budget deficit and ensure a “viable future” before the changes were proposed.
On January 28, Cardiff University declared that it would be cutting jobs and modern languages, music, and nursing courses.
If approved, the recommendations would result in a 7% drop in the number of academic employees.
Under the ideas, other academic institutions, such as the Business School, Welsh Cut, and Medicine, would be combined, as would the employment level.
The UCU has stated that it will ballot members for strike action in order to oppose mandatory redundancies, while the university has stated that the ideas are subject to a 90-day consultation with final plans finalized in June. In the midst of financial strains that have affected the industry nationwide, the majority of Wales’ institutions have simultaneously sought to reduce staff through voluntary programs.
With the strain of rising expenses and declining international student enrollment impacting the entire higher education sector, Cardiff University has previously stated that it needs to take measures to close a £30 million budget shortfall.
‘Need for reform’
Howells stated that no more Welsh government funding would be forthcoming “unless we were looking to cut back from other areas such as the NHS, education, or public services that we all rely on” in an interview with BBC Politics Wales.
She also mentioned that she was considering working with the UK government to overhaul the funding of higher education.
“We will be taking part in their work to look at how we can reform the higher education sector across the UK, so that we can look at issues such as migration, international students, competition law and crucially also HM Treasury rules, which govern student finance arrangements,” she stated.
“Really unstable” is how UCU general secretary Jo Grady described the UK’s higher education finance system.
“But then we have institutions like Cardiff, who actually have plenty of reserves… that are choosing to use this moment to restructure, are choosing to use this moment to cut courses,” she stated outside the Senedd on Tuesday.
She cautioned that there would be repercussions and a “knock-on effect” if the Welsh government did not make an investment.
The union, according to Ms. Grady, wants the Welsh government to hold Cardiff University accountable for the “millions of pounds of reserves” that they are “choosing” not to utilize.
“We would like to see the Welsh government and other elected leaders being clear that Cardiff University has a responsibility to not use staff as shock absorbers of poor management on their behalf,” she stated.
Cardiff University announced last week that its operating expenses exceeded its revenue by over £30 million during the previous academic year and that its reserves could not be used freely.
According to Deio Owen, president of NUS Cymru, Wales’ higher education system would continue to deteriorate in the absence of a long-term, sustainable funding strategy.
“Education is a public good and we need these higher education institutions to provide skills and education for the future,” he stated during the demonstration. “The government does have a role to play or we will see a continued decline, where public services will be affected in terms of recruitment of staffing research and supportive elements as well by the way universities,” he stated.
Carys Davies, a nursing student from Lampeter, Ceredigion, questioned Cardiff University’s decision to discontinue its nursing program in light of Wales’ nursing shortage.
“It is quite perplexing to cut this course. It’s beyond my comprehension. It came as a huge shock, and I’m sure many people don’t understand it,” she remarked.
“It’s more concerning for the second and first years, because as a third year, we’re close to graduating now, but we really don’t know what the future holds at this point,” she said.
The former minister’s job is at risk.
Leighton Andrews, a former Welsh education minister, expressed his ire at the proposals before to the demonstration.
According to the professor from Cardiff Business School, he was one of the employees who received letters alerting them to the possibility of being let off.
According to Professor Andrews, who oversaw education for the Welsh government from 2009 to 2013, “my mental health has unquestionably been damaged both by the university’s announcements and the manner of them.” The former member of the Rhondda assembly, who served as education minister, issued a warning to institutions to “adapt or die” at a time of instability that resulted in mergers.
In his weekly “Welcome to Ukania,” which discusses issues pertaining to the UK, Professor Andrews stated that following last week’s announcement, it was “not easy to focus on teaching.”
However, he cautioned against venting resentment on specific people, such university administrators.
“I’m angry, everyone is angry, but we can be civil,” he stated.
155 employees accepted and were granted voluntary severance between June and September 2024, and a second round ended earlier this month.
With 32,725 students in 2023, the Russell Group university is the biggest in Wales..