Degrees of difficulty

The truth is, we cannot have world-class universities on the cheap. If we want institutions that produce cutting-edge research, train skilled graduates, and contribute to national life, we must allow them to raise the money they need. Pretending otherwise simply guarantees another cycle of boom, bust, and recrimination.

Right now, staff see livelihoods at risk, students see disruption, and vice-chancellors see balance sheets collapsing. Everyone is right — which is precisely why nobody is happy.

Clark Kerr once observed that of all the organisations ever created, the university is the hardest to manage. Having been in the job, I can confirm he was right. Vice-chancellors walk a tightrope between competing, often contradictory, demands. They will never please everyone. But unless we let them make hard decisions — even unpopular ones — universities will soon have no staff, no students, and plenty of free parking.