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Article Text: Schoolchildren, workers, the elderly and the vulnerable have all been told what to expect in the coming months, however vague the timetable. Students, however, have been ignored. For the past six weeks, despite being among the least likely to show symptoms if they are infected by Covid-19, most undergraduates have dutifully returned to isolate at their parents’ homes rather than partied with friends.
Now they are in danger of being treated shoddily and kept grounded while many around them are set free. The government’s road map for relaxing lockdown, published on Monday, doesn’t mention the fate of our 2.5 million students, so they are still in limbo. Not only are they unable to go backpacking abroad this summer, take up internships or go to festivals, they still have no idea when they can return to their lecture halls and labs or whether they will have to begin or finish their degrees online.
Some undergraduates have been warned by their tutors that they may not return for another three terms as universities consider operating virtually for the next academic year. Stephen Toope, the vice-chancellor of Cambridge, sent a letter to students last week laying out four options, two of which involve courses remaining online in 2020-21.
Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, held a conference call with vice-chancellors of the 24 Russell Group universities yesterday. Oxford, Imperial, Exeter, Leeds, Durham and Bristol are among many looking, like Cambridge, to help students continue distance learning. Many modern languages undergraduates have already been told that their year abroad studying or working will now be done virtually from their bedrooms.
But if students are taught for up to 18 months at home on their laptops, it will be a far cry from the quality of education they expect for their £9,250-a-year tuition fees. While businesses and employees have been helped out with grants, furloughing and interest-free loans, students have been given nothing to tide them over. Many still had to pay their accommodation fees for their summer term. Some have even had to put down deposits for next year’s rents.
This is not only a drain on their finances but might also affect their mental health. As Sara Weller, chairwoman of student mental health at Cambridge, explained: “Universities are about far more than learning, however good the online teaching. They are about feeling you belong to a community.”
Students planning to start their degrees this October might have to endure virtual freshers’ weeks and miss out on traditional activities that are vital to joining a community. Many of them feel too old to stay at home and there often isn’t space. Even if there is, they may feel disconnected from their old lives and find it hard to get part-time jobs.
No wonder their mental health is deteriorating faster than other age groups. University College London found that almost 30 per cent of young people have thought about death recently and those between 18 and 25 now have the lowest life satisfaction.
Part of the reason universities are nervous of inviting students back is that up to a half of their intake now come from abroad and they are worried they may lose foreign students if it appears that British ones are getting a superior campus experience. When some universities floated the idea of staggering the return of science and arts students, they realised it was too divisive.
But British students could also refuse to pay the fees if they don’t believe they are getting value for money. They may drop out; they certainly won’t want to pay rent for empty rooms or they may try to defer, complicating the admissions system for years to come.
The government should encourage universities to open their doors to British students this autumn. Only 1 per cent of those who have died from Covid-19 are aged between 15 and 44 and their risk levels are very low. Sir Steve Smith, vice-chancellor of Exeter University, hopes this can be done. “Our students, even many international ones, are making it clear they want to come back. The city as well as the university needs them so we are thinking of how to do it safely, from one-way systems to smaller lecture groups,” he said. “We can’t police their parties but at least we can contain them.”
All schools are planning to open in September, when children will commute each day and risk going back to infect their families each evening, and when teachers will have close interaction with pupils. Universities, by contrast, will find it easier to keep tutors and students apart in seminar rooms, libraries and lecture theatres.
The young are increasingly fed up. According to one poll, half of all 18 to 30-year-olds say they are already beginning to flout lockdown rules. By the end of the summer it is likely they will be socialising anyway, whether in their university town or home town, in pubs and clubs or on dating apps, but at least at university they are more likely to infect their own age group.
They already know that they are likely to graduate in a depressed jobs market and will be paying off this pandemic, as well as their student debt, for decades to come. It seems only fair to give them some freedom to enjoy themselves now, so they can continue their education away from their families and form friendships that will help get them through the next few uncertain years.