State funding for education and research ‘at 100-year low’

An analysis by the University and College Union suggests that the reforms to higher education funding will cut support for teaching and research in England to its lowest proportion of public spending in over a century.

The union released its figures as ministers were preparing to announce the 2012 higher education grant letter. UCU projections suggest that by 2014/15 annual government funding for teaching and research will make up just 15 per cent of universities’ income—the lowest level since the 1900s.