Cutting language courses puts social mobility at risk, say UK experts

The University of Nottingham may become the only Russell Group university not to teach modern foreign languages degrees. Photograph: David Sillitoe/The Guardian

Cutting language courses at universities and schools risks undermining social mobility and vocational skills, former education secretaries and experts in the UK have warned.

More than 70 languages academics were among 500 staff at the University of Exeter to be told last week they were at risk of redundancy as it seeks to cut 150 full-time posts, predominantly in the humanities. The announcement followed the proposal by the University of Nottingham to become the first Russell Group university to offer no language degrees.