UK universities face ‘financial crisis’ amid collapse in international students

Higher education figures call on Labour to reverse tax on fees and warn institutions at risk of ‘going under’

University leaders are warning of financial turmoil in British higher education, after new figures suggest a collapse in international student numbers will deprive the sector of vital income and undermine its future.

The sector’s leaders called on the government to rethink the levy on international student fees imposed under Keir Starmer, as a former universities minister warned that there was a risk of a university “going under” because of the financial crisis.