In the news 4 September 2020

Universities must not become the care homes of a Covid second wave

This weekend, 瓜神网 warned that the mass migration of over a million students at the start of the new academic year risked causing a major health crisis. The union said universities had to move teaching and learning online and called for the government to step in and underwrite any lost funding.  

The story broke on the .  瓜神网 general secretary Jo Grady then told that allowing universities to reopen could lead to them to becoming the care homes of a Covid second wave.

On Sunday, Jo spoke to , , , , , , and , and said students moving across the UK risked exacerbating the worst health crisis of our lifetimes.

reported that 瓜神网's call came after  should become universities' default position. Jo told that the risk of a second wave had been increased because the government's exam results fiasco meant more students were expected on campus.

Speaking to the and , Jo said: 'It is time for the government to finally take some decisive and responsible action in this crisis and tell universities to abandon plans for face-to-face teaching.'

Jo also called for the government to provide more financial support. She said: 'The limited, piecemeal funding measures announced by the government so far are nothing compared with the security and the stimulus that would be provided by a comprehensive funding guarantee. Students will also need financial support to ensure that they can participate fully in online learning.'

New guidance on health and safety on campus

As well as calling for online teaching to be the default position of universities, 瓜神网 issued new guidance where face-to-face teaching could not be avoided. that the guidance called for face coverings to be worn, social distancing, greater testing on campus and better cleaning procedures.

On Tuesday, on how to reopen campuses safely and it was moving the majority of its teaching online for the first seven weeks of the new term.

瓜神网 Scotland's official Mary Senior said: 'It is good to see the government and employers acknowledging that campus life won't be back to normal this year. It is vital that all universities follow the cautious, risk-assessed approach to the new academic year, but we're clear that remote learning and working has to be the default position.'

Speaking to , Mary criticised threats to sanction students contained in the guidance. She said: 'The rules need to be adhered to, but heavy handed threats should not be meted out to students and staff at a time which is uncertain and worrying for many'.

On Tuesday evening Jo Grady held a with 瓜神网 president-elect Janet Farrar, Professor Ann Phoenix and Professor Elizabeth Stokoe from Independent SAGE, and NUS president Larissa Kennedy to discuss how universities could reopen safely.

US colleges and universities reopening a "disaster"

On Tuesday, a called the national reopening of US colleges and universities a "disaster", after a third of institutions fully reopened in August without a national Covid control plan, and with no guidelines on how to reopen safely. The BMJ said that many large university campuses had had to shut down within weeks of reopening due to Covid outbreaks. While Covid numbers in areas where college campuses had reopened and found that the number of cases shot up within 12 days of students returning.

that US colleges and universities may have reopened campuses in the face of health concerns to satisfy corporate funders. It said one commercial partner had written to two public universities warning them against taking actions that might limit student occupancy in their dormitories. Private higher education consultant Eric Stollers said that, after tuition fees, housing revenue appeared to be the most important financial factor behind campuses reopening.

Fewer than half of colleges paid staff in full during lockdown

Yesterday, that fewer than half of colleges paid all their casual staff either in full or in full for the hours of work that had been planned during lockdown.

A freedom of information request revealed that around 47% of colleges either paid staff "in full", or "in full for the hours they had originally planned" during lockdown. However, 7% of colleges did not pay casual or zero-hour contract staff at all. At a small number of institutions, staff were paid "in part", while at 16% of colleges, pay varied depending on role.

found that over half (56%) of staff working on insecure contracts in further, adult and prison education struggled to pay the bills. At the start of lockdown the union called that they would not lose money in the event of cancelled classes caused by the pandemic.

Jo Grady said it was unfair for casualised staff to be treated differently during lockdown and called for colleges to end the "injustice of casualised work". She said: 'It cannot be fair that casualised staff were treated differently according to the college that employed them, with some staff receiving nothing from their employer throughout lockdown.'