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Efforts to reopen universities amid the pandemic appeared to unravel tonight as three of the nation’s largest universities called for face-to-face teaching to cease.
More than 80 universities in the UK have reported at least 5,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among students and staff, including more than 1,000 at the University of Manchester, which announced it would suspend in-person teaching.
It came as 14,542 new cases were confirmed across the UK on Tuesday, 2,000 more than the day before. Seventy-six Covid patients were confirmed dead and 2,833 were hospitalized with the virus.
With Manchester among the worst-hit parts of the country, both the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) said they would suspend classes and seminars, except for a handful of specialized courses, and move to teaching online until at least the end. October.
“Manchester universities are moving online to manage outbreaks that could have been prevented if they had listened to us earlier,” said Martyn Moss, regional official for the University and College Union (UCU), who called 10 days ago for all classes university events are held online.
The University of Sheffield, which reported nearly 600 confirmed cases among students and staff, also said it would stop teaching in person, except for clinical courses, until October 19.
“We will use this transition period to implement additional risk mitigation measures to allow for the resumption of face-to-face teaching,” Sheffield Chancellor Koen Lamberts said in an email to staff.
Northumbria University staff, which announced 770 confirmed cases among its students on Friday, voted in an emergency meeting Tuesday to hold a strike vote, in addition to calling for the university’s chancellor, Andrew Wathey, to immediately resign. .
The UCU Northumbria branch has started formal dispute proceedings after it accused university management of failing to address health and safety concerns. Newcastle is also one of the worst affected areas in the UK, with more than 1,200 new coronavirus cases in the last seven days.
Other colleges also said they had growing outbreaks two weeks after students moved onto campuses at the start of the new academic year.
The MMU revealed it had 500 confirmed cases on September 27, shortly after it ordered 1,700 students to isolate themselves in their residences. Ninety-one of her students have been fined £ 50 and received a warning after breaking social distancing rules or attending dorm parties, while 39 others have received warnings.
Outbreaks continue to rise across the country, Aberdeen reported a total of 122 cases and the University of Exeter said it was at the center of nearly 300 new cases reported in the city. The University of Birmingham is said to have about 300 cases among its students.
The number of public schools in England that had to partially close due to Covid-19 infections among pupils and staff also rose again last week, according to the latest figures from the Department of Education.
While the number of students who attended improved, the proportion of schools without significant numbers of students for coronavirus-related reasons continued to rise, from 6% to 7%, or more than 1,500 schools in total.
In his speech at the Conservative Party conference, Boris Johnson said he wanted to extend the use of individual tuition that is currently being planned to help students catch up on learning missed due to the coronavirus.
“We can all see the difficulties, but I think such intensive teaching could be transformative and reassuring for parents,” Johnson said, without elaborating.
But the teachers’ unions poured cold water on Johnson’s ambition, questioning how many students would benefit and whether the money could be better spent.
“Rushed and untested plans will always lead to dysfunction. What is presented as a magic bullet for disadvantaged youth could result in less time being spent with qualified teachers, ”said Kevin Courtney, deputy secretary general of the National Education Union.
