Economic crisis threatens educational rift

The economic crisis in Europe could open up a major divide in university funding across the continent, the European University Association has warned, writes Elizabeth Gibney for Times Higher Education.

An audit of national spending on research and teaching during the financial crisis, presented at the EUA Funding Forum in Salzburg, Austria, on 12 June, showed vastly different trends.

Monitoring by the EUA’s Public Funding Observatory found that Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland increased their spending on research and teaching between 2008 and 2012, as did Denmark, Norway, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden. Meanwhile many countries in the south and the east of the continent cut their budgets by more than 10%, said EUA programme manager Enora Bennetot Pruvot, who presented the figures at the forum.
Full report on the Times Higher Education site