Universities face a shortage of students
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 2 June 2020
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Students due to start university or college this autum are in the dark over what kind of education they can expect under social distancing measures. Many are choosing to defer their studies, and institutions may miss out on billions of dollars in fees. Student Jorge Beltrao tells us why he's planning to take a gap year instead of beginning his degree, and Zamzam Ibrahim, president of the UK's National Union of Students, explains why he's not alone. Kim Weeden, professor of sociology at Cornell University in the US, explains why college campuses are such a worry when it comes to the spread of viruses. Professor Professor Peter Mathieson, principle and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh in the UK, says students can expect a good education regardless of restrictions. Simon Marginson, professor of higher education at Oxford University explains why a shortfall in international students in particular could hit universities in the English speaking world.
(Photo: High school students hold their graduation under social distancing measures in the US, Credit: EPA)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC with me Manuela Saragossa. |
| 0:06.6 | In this edition, the students turning their back on university because of the coronavirus pandemic. |
| 0:12.9 | The commitment to go to university is a huge financial commitment. |
| 0:16.7 | And so if you're going to make that huge financial commitment, then you need to know what you're getting at the end of it. |
| 0:21.3 | What does that mean for the financial future of universities everywhere? |
| 0:25.3 | I think there's a view that universities are just special pleaders. |
| 0:28.2 | They always ask for more money. |
| 0:29.9 | So in that kind of environment, things can go wrong. |
| 0:32.2 | I mean, we can't lose institutions. |
| 0:34.1 | Will universities survive the pandemic? |
| 0:36.2 | That's here in Business Daily from the BBC. |
| 0:42.3 | Georgie Beltrao is an 18-year-old school student in London. This September, he was all set to head off for his first year at university. |
| 0:51.1 | I was planning to go to Notting University and study philosophy, politics and economics. |
| 0:56.3 | Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and Georgie changed his mind about going. With all the social |
| 1:02.2 | distancing and lockdown measures in place, he wasn't sure he was going to get the full university |
| 1:07.4 | experience. Yeah, it was really hard actually to not go to university. I'd hear stories |
| 1:11.7 | for my sister who's graduated when she told me about all the great times you had, especially |
| 1:15.3 | your first year, like fresh as week and all. I mean, it sounds unimportant, but actually the social |
| 1:19.5 | is actually probably a big part of uni, because you'd be making all friends and all. But I don't |
| 1:24.1 | want to pay the money and it to be not the full experience sort of thing. |
| 1:28.3 | I mean, it sounds unimportant compared to the rest of the sort of coronavirus consequences, |
| 1:33.6 | but it is my future that is going to be impacting. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.