Scotland and Wales announce staggered return for students in January
Ministers at Holyrood and Cardiff Bay have announced that university students will return to campus over a staggered period in January.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Earlier this week, Scottish and Welsh governments released advice for university students who intend to return to their term-time address in the new year.
In Wales, Mark Drakeford’s coalition government has called on universities to return students over the course of four weeks from January 11.
Upon their arrival, students will be asked to take a lateral flow Covid-19 test (LFT). After three days in self-isolation, students will need to take a second LFT test before returning to the “new normal”. These measures will apply to all students receiving either face-to-face tuition or online teaching.
However, for students at Wales’ eight universities who would rather not be tested, the government has requested that they self-isolate instead for the full 14-day period.
Welsh Education Minister Kirsty Williams has stated that she knows that “students will be eager to return to their university campus after the Christmas break, but will want to do that in a safe way.”
Her Scottish counterpart, John Swinney, similarly told the Scottish Parliament that students will return over a slightly longer six-week period in an attempt to limit the spread of Covid-19, as experienced at the University of Glasgow in September. Students should also limit their social interaction in the two weeks leading up to their return to university, and in the two weeks afterwards.
Swinney, who also holds the position of deputy first minister of Scotland, added that: “with limited exceptions, undergraduate students will restart their studies at home, at the normal beginning of term, and should only return to campus and their term-time accommodation when asked to do so by their university.”
The new guidelines have been criticised by some; director of Universities Scotland Alastair Sim suggested that Swinney’s request for students not to return to their term-time home early would have “major cost implications at a time when institutions are under very serious financial pressure.”
Earlier this year, it was estimated that around a dozen universities faced the risk of going bust due to financial costs incurred by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
NUS Scotland President Matt Crilly has also expressed his concern for students’ mental health during the 28 day period in which they will be asked to restrict their social contact before and after returning to university.
As ever, it is unclear how much attention will be paid to the new guidelines, and the i has also reported that students are expected to ignore demands to wait for in-person teaching to return before arriving on campus.
For the moment, the UK government has advised English higher education institutions to follow a similar staggered five-week return period, although this may be subject to change. Courses such as nursing, architecture, art/design and sciences who require the use of a laboratory would be allowed to return to university for the first three weeks of term from January 4 to 24. Other courses would be taught online until January 25, upon which the rest of students would be allowed to return to university over a two-week period.
Alongside the mass testing of students returning to campus, Whitehall has also recommended that the return of practical and placement students is prioritised, and that students only return to their term-time address once their face-to-face teaching has resumed.
As cases rise in some London boroughs, there have been reports that the capital may soon be placed under Tier 3 restrictions, which will determine whether UCL students are able to return to university in the new year. Pi Media will continue to report on the restrictions as more information becomes available.
This article is published as part of The Commons Man series, written by Pi Media columnist Jack Walters.