A Leeds education chief has added his voice to growing calls for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to make universities teach students online.
It follows a joint statement from two teaching and students’ unions calling for more to be done to allow students to work remotely, and have greater support around mental health and amenities.
The Government has praised universities for reopening successfully and has said it is monitoring the situation.
Universities hit the headlines earlier this week, when it was revealed some students at institutions around the UK were told to remain in their halls of residence for fear of spreading Covid-19.
Leeds City Council executive member for learning Coun Jonathan Pryor (Lab) said: “It is clear that the Government’s test and tracing systems were simply not good enough to cope with the return of students to University – something which was entirely predictable.
“We can see the knock-on effect from this Government failure so clearly at universities and particularly in student halls.
“Moving forward we not only need to see testing and tracing working properly, but we need the Government to realise what effect this failure is having on the mental health of students everywhere, and we need a guarantee that there will be financial support for students, higher education institutions and their staff, to deal with any additional expenses from the pandemic.”
A joint statement from the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) and National Students Union (NUS) released earlier this week stated: “We are not prepared to take chances with the health and safety of students, staff or local communities and neither should Government or vice chancellors.
“UCU and NUS are therefore demanding that the Westminster Government take urgent action to support and protect staff and students on our campuses and the wider communities that they serve.
“Students must not be forced to quarantine in halls of residence with no familiar support network, pastoral care and more serious restrictions than the rest of society.
“Staff must not be forced to carry out work on site that could be conducted more safely from home.
“Students must be allowed to safely return home if they wish to, without fear of financial penalty for leaving their student accommodation.
“Ministers need to act now to prevent more students feeling forced to move onto campus and issue clear guidance to move as much work as possible online, in line with other workplaces.”
The Department for Education did not comment, but highlighted a speech made to Parliament yesterday by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson responding to the statement.
He said: “At the beginning of September we saw the successful reopening of our schools and colleges. Universities have been working just as hard to make campuses as safe as possible, including through enhanced cleaning measures, social distancing on campus and changes to timetables to stagger and manage attendance on site.
“We have now seen the new intake of first-year students who are beginning a new chapter in their lives at university, together with those who are returning to carry on their studies.
“I know this will not be the start that any of them would have wanted or expected and I would just like to say that I am pleased to see both universities and students have followed the guidance in a responsible way, putting themselves, friends and the local community in a safe place and out of harms’ way.
“As with all our education settings, we will continue monitoring the situation closely and will follow the latest scientific advice, adapting policies as the situation changes.”
The University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University and Leeds Trinity University have been contacted for comment.
