Cardiff University pushing ahead with plans to open a campus in Kazakhstan while slashing jobs and closing courses at home would be a "national disgrace," a Senedd member has said. Another MS said they had been told staff had been warned to prepare to teach from the new campus - some 3.500 miles from its main hub in the Welsh capital.

Natasha Asghar, the Conservatives’ shadow education secretary, warned the Cardiff cuts would be catastrophic for staff, students, the economy and the country as a whole.

Ms Asghar questioned the university’s plans to open a campus in Kazakhstan, saying: "It would be a national disgrace if these closures and job cuts go ahead while the university pushes ahead with its plans for an overseas outlet."

Warning of a crisis in funding, Labour’s Julie Morgan said: "I've also been told that the university has offered staff at risk of redundancy a range of mental health support services to help with receiving these letters saying that they are at risk of redundancy. However, when members of staff are contacting these services, they're being told that the services are booked up until March, which is a bitter pill to take."

The former minister said she has heard some staff have been told to prepare to teach from the campus in Kazakhstan next year.

Plaid Cymru MS Cefin Campbell criticised last week’s bombshell announcement from Cardiff University that 400 jobs were at risk, with courses including nursing and music facing the chop.

The shadow education secretary said Cardiff University is not the only institution treading troubled waters, with a combined deficit of £70m based on 2023/24 financial statements. He warned that Welsh universities face further pressures, including extra national insurance costs of around £20m and a loss in income from international recruitment of £70m to £80m.

Mr Campbell said: "It beggars belief that the Welsh Government have let the situation get to the stage where one of our higher education institutions is, effectively, using something akin to a credit card to help balance the books. Furthermore, due to budgetary pressures, Trinity St David’s has announced the closure of the historic campus at Lampeter for undergraduate degrees. We cannot let the birthplace of higher education in Wales be the beginning of the end for our university sector." Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

His party were calling for a new higher education strategy, an assessment of the impact of plans to close the nursing school and an evaluation of the pressures faced by universities. However, Senedd members voted 43-12 against the Plaid Cymru motion.

Mick Antoniw, also a Labour backbencher, criticised the university’s "short sharp shock-style" approach which "drives a coach and horses through the whole process".

He quoted a constituent as saying: "This centralised technocratic shambles has been driven by bureaucrats at the centre. It is certainly not co-created as the vice-chancellor claims."

Ms Howells rejected claims universities are underfunded as she criticised “irresponsible” opposition members for suggesting some institutions are on the brink of collapse. "We also need to be frank," said the universities minister. "Even if we were to cut grants for students or divert funding away from the NHS, schools or local government to increase funding … universities would still need to change."

Ms Howells, a Cardiff University graduate, pointed to a significant drop in international postgraduate enrolments and the loss of millions of pounds in EU structural funding.