Coronavirus: Universities to be asked to abandon face to face teaching ahead of Christmas break
Union chief accuses government of ‘perverse obsession with Christmas’ amid university outbreaks
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Universities are to be asked to move all teaching online in the run up to Christmas in a bid to get students home safely and prevent mass Covid-19 outbreaks across the country.
It follows fears the migration of students into campuses in recent weeks has helped drive a sharp spike in cases.
Tens of thousands of students across the country have since tested positive for coronavirus. A number of institutions have also reported significant outbreaks.
Reports suggest universities could be asked to abandon face-to-face tuition as early as 8 December.
Some will already have finished for the year at that stage.
But others, such as UCL in London, are due to continue teaching until 18 December.
Boris Johnson has pledged to get university students back to their families for the festive season.
Around a million young people are expected to make the journey to celebrate Christmas with their loved ones.
Meetings are due to be held between government ministers and universities shortly.
Jo Grady, the general secretary of the University and College Union, told the Guardian the government’s plans risked being “unworkable and chaotic” without input from students or staff.
“Instead of this perverse obsession with Christmas, ministers and universities must focus on the here and now. We should be talking about getting people home now, not in two months’ time,” Grady said.
“This is a government completely out of touch with the public and seemingly unaware of what happens at universities.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “All students will be able to go home at Christmas if they so choose. However, if students are travelling home, we must ensure they do so in a way which minimises the risks of spreading the virus, and the date when universities must stop in-person teaching will be an important part of this. We will set out details on this shortly.
“We have issued clear guidance setting out four tiers of restrictions for education settings, and continue to work closely with universities and public health officials to make decisions about what measures need to be applied to respond appropriately to the situation locally.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments