Higher tuition fees at Russell Group universities could “destroy” the UK’s “incredible” higher education system, a vice-chancellor has warned.

Speaking at Times Higher Education’s World Academic Summit, Adam Habib, who has led SOAS University of London since 2018, said he was disappointed by recent suggestions from the group representing 24 of the UK’s largest research-intensive universities that its members should be allowed to charge higher fees depending on subject or reputation.

“This is a historical moment we confront,” he said, referring to the funding crisis that has led to thousands of job losses across the UK sector in recent years. “But are national conversations speaking to this moment?” he asked, challenging institutions to “elevate the conversation to think sectorally, rather than through an institutionally parochial lens. That’s the challenge of our time…That’s the challenge we face collectively.”

Referring to a  with the Russell Group’s new chief executive Libby Hackett, which floated the idea that certain universities should be able to charge different fees in light of the £3,000 average deficit that universities are operating on each student, Habib said this idea risked undermining the cohesiveness of the sector and “pricing out” some institutions from engaging globally.

ɫ��ֱ��

“We are going to destroy our system [with this] debate and how it’s evolving,” he argued, stating the “crisis” in university finances reflected a “failure of leadership through government”.

But calls to ramp up fees at some universities also represented a “failure” as “universities are approaching this in an institutionally parochial way”, he said.

ɫ��ֱ��

Hackett’s call has also been condemned by other sector figures and mission groups.

Instead of taking a divisive approach, UK universities should take advantage of what Habib saw as an “incredible opportunity story” by tapping into the unmet demand for higher education in Africa, he said.

“You’ve got a moment where…there’s great demand. There’s tens of millions of young people [seeking higher education in Africa], and even if all the universities in Africa worked at 100 per cent efficiency, they would never be able to meet the demands of training [so many],” he explained.

“And then you’ve got a university system in the UK that has some [unused] capacity, even though it trains 700,000 students from around the world on an annual basis,” he argued.

ɫ��ֱ��

Habib, who was vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand, one of South Africa’s leading research universities, prior to moving to London, said expanding global partnerships could help to “align the supply capacity of the UK with the demand capacity of Africa or even Asia and Latin America”.

“We can create a global developmental agenda that allows us to both connect with the financial sustainability of a great system but meet the demands of development,” said Habib.

Expanding educational partnerships with African providers could help bring down tuition fees for international students to affordable levels, continued Habib.

Criticising the current fee levels for international students as “anti-development”, Habib said SOAS had “discounted fees with partnerships in Africa, falling from £28,000 international fees to £7,000”.

ɫ��ֱ��

“But £7,000 in South Africa is 180,000 rand – an enormous amount of money. So you will have to create some kind of subsidy for support, whether that’s Rhodes funds, the African Development Bank or the World Bank,” he said.

“You need to bring financial agencies, corporates into the partnership to cross-subsidise to bring costs down in a way that makes [university attendance] feasible for the local marketplace.

ɫ��ֱ��

“We are in a historical moment where we can bring and create equitable partnerships because in this moment we can create an alignment of interests.”

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com