Coronavirus: College students expected to be able to return home by Christmas, says Downing Street | Political news



[ad_1]

Downing Street has said it hopes college students can go home by Christmas.

Dozens of institutions have reported coronavirus outbreaks in recent days, with hundreds of confirmed cases of COVID-19.

According to Sky News investigation, at least 33 universities in the UK have confirmed cases of coronavirus, while two others have suspected cases.



Students face lockdown across the UK



Calls to take students home before Christmas

More than 717 cases have been identified among students and staff since the universities reopened, according to data collected through Sept. 28.

This has resulted in thousands of students having to isolate themselves, including around 1,700 students from Manchester Metropolitan University.

Students from that university will receive financial compensation of more than a week’s rent, said its rector.

The outbreaks have raised the possibility of students being asked to stay on campus over Christmas to stop the spread of the disease.

But the prime minister’s official spokesman said Monday: “We hope that all students can go home for Christmas.”

He said that students were subject to the same rules as the general population in the areas in which they live.



Manchester Students



Manchester students: first year ‘somewhat ruined’

“The rules for students are the same as for the rest of the public,” the spokesman told reporters at a regular briefing in Westminster.

“Universities can obviously give advice to their students and I think that’s what has been happening in recent days.”

The Union of Universities and Colleges, which represents academics and university staff, has asked Boris Johnson to ensure that online enrollment “becomes the norm.”

Some institutions have taken a “stubborn position” in insisting on in-person teaching because they depend on renting student accommodation, the union said.



Three students recorded video diaries for Sky News about their feelings and first impressions arriving at college for the week of freshman year.



‘It’s pretty scary’: Freshers students on COVID-19

In a letter to the prime minister, UCU Secretary General Jo Grady said the union “was not prepared to take risks with the health of students, our members and the communities they serve.”

“It is clear that distance learning should be the default for life on campus while we are in this precarious position with the virus,” he said.

:: Subscribe to the daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker

“What we are seeing on the ground, however, is university employers hiding behind the current industry orientation of the government, with all the ambiguities associated with the term ‘blended learning.”

He added that students should be allowed to leave their accommodation and return home “without fear of financial sanction.”



Students are being told not to go to pubs, parties or restaurants in an attempt to stop a series of coronavirus outbreaks in Scottish universities.



University life in isolation

“We cannot force students to quarantine themselves in residences without a family support network, or staff forced to perform on-site jobs that could be done more safely from home,” Ms. Grady said.

The president of the National Union of Students (NUS, for its acronym in English) has claimed that self-isolating are “trapped” in “disgusting conditions” and miss the food delivery.

“I heard from other students who, arrived with a quantity of toilet paper, they were told without warning that they were going to lock them and they wondered where the next roll of toilet paper would come from,” Larissa. Kennedy told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

“It appears that these are unpleasant conditions that students have been trapped in.”



Manchester Metropolitan University Vice Chancellor said students would be eligible for 'significant' financial aid



Virus-hit students to get ‘significant’ cash

While saying that people should follow public health guidelines, Ms. Kennedy questioned the legality of keeping students “locked up like that without that access to the things they need.”

Manchester Metropolitan University has said it cannot prevent locked-in students from leaving their accommodation, but hopes they will follow the guidance on self-isolation.

The Student Office, England’s regulator for higher education, has promised to investigate whether universities “have not taken all reasonable steps to protect standards or whether quality is declining for groups of students.”

OfS President Nicola Dandridge said students had “consumer rights” and could complain to their university, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator and the OfS.

When asked about the possibility of partial refunds of tuition fees, he added: “We would expect a university to consider the circumstances of each student rather than adopt a blanket policy that refunds are not available.”

[ad_2]