‘Need cutting back’ Fury over £712m blackhole for ‘world leading’ university schemes

University strikes: Lecturer fumes over pay cuts

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The Government has been urged to take urgent action over former EU-funded programmes which are now at risk of stalling or stopping. Of the 245 universities across England and Wales once enjoying the funding, 164 of the schemes now face termination due to a lack of EU funding.

But Express.co.uk readers have pointed out the nation requires more Government funding in other areas.

Starting the debate, PeaGreen69 said: “The universities need cutting back anyway.

“We need technical colleges teaching trades.”

This was supported by Harker, who said: “We should reduce the number of these bone idle institutions and put the money into our industry training.

“The emphasis on degrees has destroyed practical training and created an ‘I have a degree culture’ such as the police are requiring recruits to have a degree when common sense is needed.”

BoundryGate said: “Who cares what universities want, they wanted to remain in the EU, let them fund their own projects.”

Slamming the EU as an institution obsessed with money, GC said: “The EU gave nothing to the UK except part of its own contributions back.

“The money now at least can start to stay at home.”

Speaking of the debt students face in the UK, Dogglebird said: “We have far too many universities and far too many youngsters going to them.

“We can no longer afford it – and students should not be incurring decades of debt for worthless degrees.

“The whole university sector needs to be trimmed right back and, for many subjects, replaced by technical colleges and even distance learning.”

Adding to this, Anth22 wrote: “There will be a huge shortage of engineering trades in the next few years.

“There’s a huge number of tradesmen retired and all of these skills will be lost.

“We need technical colleges to train the young people.”

WhatsGoingOn said the UK has more pressing financial worries.

Criticising the Government at home, PedanticPatrick said: “Just one example of how the UK got funding from the EU as part of their membership and payments.

“I don’t remember seeing this on the side of the bus!

“Now it’s gone and the Government fail to properly fund an alternative.”

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According to the Government, the UK spends significantly on overall research and development projects.

The Commons Library states: “In the UK in 2019, total expenditure on R&D was £38.5 billion, £577 per head, or the equivalent of 1.74 percent of GDP.

“R&D investment has risen steadily over the past few decades, from £20.4 billion in 1986 to the current total of £38.5 billion (in 2019 prices). This is a real-terms increase of 96 percent.

Should the Government plug the gap in missing EU funding for universities? Has Brexit cost Britain its place as a leading nation for academia? Should universities raise their own funding, or should taxpayers bear the burden? Let us know what you think by CLICKING HERE and joining the debate in our comments section below – Every Voice Matters!

“But as a proportion of GDP, R&D expenditure has fallen over this period. It was the equivalent of 1.84 percent of GDP in 1985.

“The Government has a target for total R&D investment to reach 2.4 percent of GDP by 2027.”

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