University spending cuts put 2,000 academics at risk

More than 2,000 academics have been sacked or threatened with unemployment this year because of university spending cuts, although the Government plans a big increase in student numbers. The job losses are shown in a survey by the Association of University Teachers.

Tony Blair has set a target of getting 50 per cent of youngsters into higher education by the end of the decade, and student numbers have been rising steadily despite increased worries over debt.

The latest university to feel the pinch is Keele where academics will stage a demonstration today at a ceremony to give the European commissioner Chris Patten an honorary degree. A freeze in spending on equipment and the loss of 34 jobs from science, social science and humanities staff have been proposed, more than 10 per cent of the total teaching staff.

The university has postponed plans for compulsory redundancies but warned it cannot rule them out.

The survey reveals physics and chemistry faculties are among those worst-hit. Universities that have threatened cuts in these areas include Birmingham Salford, Surrey and King's College London, the survey shows.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the AUT, said the cuts were "short-termism at its worst". She added: "Again, physics and chemistry are being targeted for job losses. Everyone agrees this country needs more scientists and yet our universities are allowed to get away with sacking staff and closing courses in these subjects."

In an article in The Independent on Sunday, Charles Clarke, the Secretary of State for Education, said funding per student had dropped by 36 per cent during the Conservatives' 18-year reign. He acknowledged that – despite increases under Labour – the position had only "stabilised".

Academics say they need 17,000 more staff to teach the expected volume of students.