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Some 40 universities across the UK have reported coronavirus cases and thousands of students are isolating themselves as the new period begins.
Health Minister Helen Whately said “it must be very difficult” for the students, but they wanted the outbreaks “to be under control.”
Universities were working hard to be able to resume some face-to-face learning, the health minister said.
But some students have questioned why they were told to leave home when most of the teaching is done remotely.
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On whether students could go home for Christmas at the end of the term, Ms. Whately said that talking about this was “a free time,” she said, adding, “It’s up to all of us to get this under control so we can get through Christmas with our families. “
Labor has asked the government to consider halting the return to universities after the Covid outbreaks meant that thousands of students had to isolate themselves in their accommodation.
Meanwhile, more than 10 million people have downloaded the NHS Covid-19 app since it was launched on Thursday, says the health secretary.
‘Legal rights’
Universities affected by coronavirus cases include:
- Manchester Metropolitan University – where some 1,700 students were told to isolate themselves for fifteen days after 127 tested positive for the virus
- University of Glasgow – where 600 students were told to self-isolate after 172 tested positive
- Queen’s University Belfast: Some students have been told to isolate themselves after a “small number” tested positive
- The University of Exeter, which has also reported a “small” number of cases
Shadow labor education secretary Kate Green said the option of student fee refunds should be kept “absolutely on the table.”
She told the BBC that she understood that students might feel that if they are not using their accommodation or “getting the education they were hoping for, they have paid quite substantial fees for this,” but accepted that many universities were “in very difficult financial circumstances. . “
Ms. Green said there are many factors to consider to ensure that students receive the highest quality education possible, “including the ability to keep the option of reimbursement absolutely on the table.”
Nicola Dandridge of the Student Office said that students “have legal rights” but that tuition fee refunds are “a matter for the government.”
“If students feel that they are not receiving what was offered to them, then they should raise it with their university and they also have the right to complain to the university ombudsman,” he told BBC Radio 4 Today.
Joe Ward is a student at Manchester Metropolitan University, where students have said that security guards and police prevented them from leaving their accommodation. Now, all freshmen and foundation students will receive online classes for two weeks.
“If I was made aware that this is how things would be and that things would only be online, I would definitely have reconsidered going to college this year,” Joe, who shares a flat with seven other people, told BBC News.
“I would definitely like to think that there could be some kind of compensation, but at the same time I understand that for the university it is also quite difficult for them, everything is very new for them too.
“It is difficult for both parties, but we would definitely appreciate a little more communication, which is starting to come now, but it is still early.”
His roommate Natasha Kutscheruk said the initial closure “caused a lot of panic”, and said the university “should have been prepared and organized before sending an email saying that we are closed.”
So far, there have been outbreaks of Covid in some 40 universities across the UK, and there is a chance that number will increase as more universities enter the period.
It’s not exactly the college experience the students envisioned.
Freshmen may be worried about leaving home, but now they may also be worried about not being able to return, if they end up in an outbreak and are forced to isolate themselves.
They were promised a combination of classroom and online teaching, but the balance seems to be shifting more towards online lessons.
This means even less time in person with other students and staff and more hours locked in your room with online recordings and academic versions of Zoom meetings.
Universities are trapped in their own corners. They are under pressure from teachers to switch to all teaching online and bring students home, rather than creating a repeating tape of Covid outbreaks.
But that would provoke angry demands for refunds for accommodation and fees.
Universities appreciate their autonomy, but in this case it may appear that they are waiting for someone else to make a decision for them.
Larissa Kennedy, president of the National Student Union, has said that the union has “long called for online learning to be the default.”
“Yes [students’] the quality of learning is severely affected, so we also need tuition fees to be reimbursed, “he said.
Minister Whatley said universities were “working very hard” so students could “get back to the mix” of online and face-to-face learning and social distance socialization.
In Scotland, in addition to the University of Glasgow, students have been affected in Dundee, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Coronavirus restrictions in Scotland currently prohibit people from visiting other homes in their home, meaning that students cannot return to another address in Scotland from university accommodation for a short stay without a reasonable excuse, such as a family emergency.
However, a new guide issued by the Scottish government clarifies that students can return home in the long term.
Students who have been told to self-isolate may return home if they need support to do so, including physical, financial, or mental health support.
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