The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed many universities in the United States and the United Kingdom to the brink of bankruptcy.

A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies of the United Kingdom published last week indicates 13 universities in the UK might face a bankruptcy crisis by 2024, if there are no government bailouts forthcoming.

Meanwhile, dozens of US universities are also facing grave financial difficulties.

The drop in international students, a large source of their revenue, and the disappearance of income from the paid services the universities provide, ranging from students dorms to canteens, are the immediate causes. However, as the IFS report reveals, the decline of some universities' credibility, management and financial sustainability have also contributed to their declining appeal to international students.

Additionally, the political tensions between the Western countries and China has also prompted many Chinese students to have second thoughts about going to these countries to study. If the US and UK politicians keen to victimize Chinese students and scholars in their political games continue to indulge themselves in their absurd tricks, the suffering of the universities will become increasingly acute.

What the universities need is not only money, but more importantly reform to improve their education quality and adaptability to the changing circumstances.

Otherwise, some of them, particularly those that have bet on the easy money from tuition fees paid by international students will remain vulnerable even after the pandemic draws to its close.

In about a decade or two most of the major source countries of international students, particularly those in Asia, will enter their aged-society stage, and the decline of the school-age population will be an irreversible trend.