Canberra, May 14 (TIWN) A top official at one of Australia's most prestigious universities warned on Friday that the sector has been "left to bleed" by the federal budget.

Brian Schmidt, vice-chancellor of the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, said that many universities in Australia would experience "budget woes" in 2021.  The federal budget for the financial year 2021-22 was handed down by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Tuesday night.  The ANU in April revealed a budget deficit of 162.4 million Australian dollars (125.4 million U.S. dollars) for 2020 - its worst since 2008.  "What is harder to understand is why the university sector has been left to bleed, given what most might expect to be its pivotal role in the health of the economy," said Schmidt, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.  "The cumulative effect of border closures on international student numbers will lead to other universities catching up with my university's budget woes this year."