The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the ability of universities to fund their operations, as the number of overall enrolments have declined as students defer their studies to the next year, or choose to complete their studies in their home country.
With an approximate loss of £3 billion to £19 billion hovering over universities, this might spell doom for a lot of staff and students currently working and enrolled at a few universities which might not be able to stay afloat post-COVID. This is mainly because, although many institutions have faced quite a huge loss due to the decrease in revenue, there are some institutions in the UK that entered the COVID-19 pandemic period with quite weak financials, and so it is these institutions that may find it difficult to remain solvent once the pandemic washes away.
While official UK government statistics show a whopping 229% increase in the number of Indian students enrolling at UK universities over the years, this year has been quite a yorker! While enrolments and visa applications remained at a high this year as well, once the pandemic set in, many students have decided to defer their studies to next year, with one of the prime reasons being the blended approach being adopted, which might not be suitable to every student.
However, as the academic year has begun in full swing, most universities are attempting to support students in many ways, by offering remote study options and shifting studies to complete online methods for those students who are not able to make it to the UK. Moreover, it is also believed that numbers may see a short-run dip, over the long-run, enrolment numbers will surely be on the rise as the UK government has unveiled quite a few changes to the Student and Graduate visas, which greatly benefit students looking to settle and work in the UK.
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