Petition: End the Covid crisis on our campuses

Students, lecturers and support staff at universities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are struggling to cope with the impact of Covid-19. The effects of the crisis in universities, further and higher education and technical colleges will be felt for many years to come.

It is imperative that the Westminster Government and devolved governments act immediately to deal with the short term consequences of Covid-19 and work to create a long term strategy that supports current and future students, lecturers, support staff and the post-18 education sector.

Open Labour has launched a petition calling on the Government to act across Departments to quickly advise, equip and fund the delivery of emergency support, to help students, lecturers, support staff and a sector which already is struggling to cope. Westminster and devolved governments need to work together on identifying and delivering the additional funding necessary to support such a programme.

Open Labour’s youth officer Cathleen Clarke said: “It’s been a terrible summer for our young people struggling with the fiasco of exams for GCSE and A-Level students. Now first-time uni and college goers are hit with a Covid crisis on campuses and lockdowns almost the moment they arrived.”

Kings College London student Maliha Reza added: “We’ve had delay, dither and confusion, which needs to end. The government needs to take responsibility, set out short-term measures and put in place a long-term plan, working with students, universities, colleges and unions.”

Edinburgh University student Elsie Greenwood commented: “It shows yet again the Scottish government have not prioritised the wellbeing of students. Once again, we see another mistake they’ve made on education because of a lack of foresight and planning in this crisis.”

Click here to sign the petition.