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Bad dreams

Hamish Birrell: public policy correspondent, The Economist

A golden age for universities comes to an end

Some universities will disappear altogether

THE PAST year was a difficult one for new students. Many were barred from campus.
Others could not enter the country in which they hoped to study. Those who made it
were greeted by freshers’ fairs on Zoom and strict socialising rules.

All this means that 2021 will be a difficult time to run a university. Over the past few
decades, universities have thrived, supported by rising prosperity, growing demand and
politicians who saw them as engines of economic growth. Covid-19 threatens much of
this.

The most obvious risk concerns international students. Their numbers have surged in
recent years. By the time the pandemic struck, there were more than 5m around the
world, mostly travelling from the emerging world to study in the rich world’s best
universities, and paying handsomely to do so.