The death of the university, first announced many decades ago, has been a slow process. But its death throes quickened this year, as external threats met institutions bereft of purpose.

Perhaps most significantly, the financial crisis in England’s higher-education sector is coming to a head. This is due, in the main, to inflation, tax changes and frozen student fees. But warped spending priorities and bloated bureaucracies have also contributed to the problems facing almost three-quarters of England’s universities. Additionally, the decision 10 years ago to lift the cap on student recruitment has benefitted more esteemed and popular institutions, while leaving many others struggling to recruit fee-paying students. The facts are stark. Forty per cent of higher-education institutions apparently only have enough money to cover a few months’ costs.

The thorough-going marketisation of higher education has also affected the quality of the education on offer. Many popular institutions have expanded by lowering standards. Indeed, entry requirements for international students, whose fees are uncapped, have virtually disappeared at some universities. Even the lecturers’ union has noted that the ability to speak English is being discarded in the dash for cash cows. One professor told the BBC that 70 per cent of his recent master’s students had inadequate English, making it difficult to teach anything but the basics. Now, after decades of growth, international recruitment has fallen this year, adding to the sector’s financial woes.

Universities’ response to the cash crisis reveals their deeper crisis of purpose. Up to 10,000 university jobs are reported to have been cut this year. Yet diversity, equity and inclusion teams seem to have been largely spared the axe. Instead, universities are cutting core academic disciplines. The University of Kent has closed its philosophy department, while Canterbury Christ Church University will no longer teach English literature – a university spokesperson described the course as ‘no longer viable in the current climate’.