They said the state of university finances was more dire than revealed in last week's report by the Office for Students, which forecast that 40% of England's universities would end this year in the red.
Vice-chancellors said increases of between £2,000 and £3,500 a year for each student would be needed to stabilise the sector.
Two former universities ministers, the Conservative peer David Willetts and Labour's Alan Johnson, plus Peter Mandelson, a former business secretary, all said more funding for universities was a matter of urgency.
A fourth former higher education minister, the Labour MP Margaret Hodge, said raising fees was "politically impossible" but that the funding system needed to be made more progressive.
The value of domestic tuition fees has fallen with inflation and universities are becoming increasingly reliant on overseas students who can be charged significantly more.
Many in the sector fear Rishi Sunak will announce further measures to reduce international student numbers this week, to coincide with the publication of the latest UK immigration statistics on Wednesday.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 20, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 20, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.
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