Universities have warned the government against further reducing funding for teaching, after a £100 million budget cut last year.
The government is understood to be currently determining the level of next year’s Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) – the money given to universities to support teaching, including for high-cost subjects.
But Universities UK (UUK) has warned that the amount of money the government contributes towards the cost of obtaining a degree has fallen proportionately, placing a greater burden on students.
When tuition fees were increased in 2012, the government at the time envisaged covering 54 per cent of the cost of teaching English undergraduates.
However, new analysis by London Economics on behalf of UUK has found that, for students starting university in 2025-26, the government will be contributing 23 per cent – less than half the proportion originally planned.
