Michele Donelan has warned that UK universities could potentially face fines if they don’t provide sufficient in person learning.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, Donelan said:
‘We’re all enjoying the freedoms that the vaccine has enabled us to have. Students and lecturers will be going to the pub, going out for meals, they’ll be going to parties, going to weddings, probably concerts, so it doesn’t actually make sense that they can’t then be in a lecture theatre.’
She explained that she is yet to hear a reasonable rationale for why we would want students to be on a second track to the rest of the population, deeming a lack of in person teaching ‘really wrong’.
Punishments for universities that fail to return to pre-pandemic levels of face-to face teaching could include fines. Unis could even lose the ability to access money from the student loan system. Inspections will be carried out by the Office for Students (OfS).
Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said: ‘Universities understand the value of face-to-face teaching and that’s why in-person teaching and learning is the main method of delivering most courses at most universities across the UK.’
‘Like every sector, the pandemic has changed the way universities work, with significant advances made in digital teaching and learning. Students have been clear that these developments help them learn, can make the learning experience more accessible and flexible and enhance digital skills valued by employers. Many universities have responded to this positive student feedback by including some digital learning alongside in-person learning opportunities,’ Jarvis continued.
The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, told The Times that he has challenged vice-chancellors to give school-leavers detailed information about how much face-to-face teaching students would get. This is so they can make an informed decision, before they commit and pay for degrees and accommodation.