Edinburgh University boss cannot rule out compulsory redundancies as he makes 'tragedy' call

Edinburgh University cannot rule out compulsory redundancies, the institution’s principal has conceded.

Sir Peter Mathieson said it would be a “tragedy” if a crisis in funding led to the closure of Dundee University and other education institutions. He said the Scottish Government must come up with radical solutions in how they fund higher education students.

Old College at the University of Edinburgh | PA

It comes as several universities are facing budget cuts and redundancies over a lack of money.

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Edinburgh University is planning cuts worth £140 million – around 10 per cent of its annual turnover.

Sir Peter said the number of staff at the university would fall from the existing 18,500 roles, but declined to give a figure on how many positions would be cut.

It comes after he said in March “nothing is off the table” as part of efforts to try to repair the university’s finances, including job cuts and the closure of schools.

"There are inefficiencies about the way we deliver things,” he told BBC Scotland. “This is a mammoth university with 22 schools and lots of duplication. We're very good at adding new things, not at taking things away.

"We need to take a seriously look at the way we do things, and be responsible with the scale of operations we can afford to provide. So there's radical rewiring [needed] of the way we do our business, but also of political imperatives.

"If it's to be a political priority, then it has to be adequately funded to ensure its future."

Sir Peter said there would be a “radical re-writing” in how the institution operates, with fewer courses available and less complexity and duplication.

Dundee University is expected to cut as many as 700 staff amid its funding crisis, partly due to a rapid fall in the number of foreign students.

Sir Peter said it was a “tragedy” that Dundee’s interim principal said the closure or break up of the university was possible.

Professor Sir Peter Mathieson announced last month that the university is looking to make cuts of £140m | Contributed

“It would be a tragedy for Scotland if other universities were to get themselves into a similar situation,” Sir Peter said. “What we’re doing here is to make sure we don’t.”

Edinburgh University secured £360m from foreign students in the last academic year, compared to just £27m in fees from Scottish students. Another £82m came from students from other parts of the UK.

Universities have warned the around £7,500 in tuition paid for each student is well below the cost of education, making universities more reliant on overseas students – whose numbers have plummeted in recent years.

Sir Peter said the Scottish Government would have to substantially increase the funding for each student or look at other options to raise income. These could include cutting the number of Scottish students, allowing universities to recruit Scots willing to pay or introduction graduate contributions.

He said: “We need more income into the system, either through some kind of means testing or a post-graduate system of earnings repayment. Either we have tuition fees which are adequate to pay the costs, or we have another mechanism to pay the costs.

“If we had a hybrid system, where some people pay fees and some people don’t, one possibility is that that’s means-tested in some way.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.