Christmas return plans for university students ‘riddled with holes’, as questions raised over mass-testing feasibility

Government plans for students in England to come home for Christmas are “riddled with holes", a union has said, and the promised mass-testing programme does not yet exist.

Meanwhile English students have been encouraged to follow "refined behaviour" before returning home – while in Scotland students are being advised to leave their accommodation as little as possible.

Students in England have been asked to go home between the 3 and 9 December – just after the national lockdown is due to end – to make sure they are home by the end of term, and to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission.

Universities have been told to set staggered departure dates over this window for students to travel home for Christmas, in much-anticipated guidance published on Wednesday.

The government has promised to “work closely with universities to establish mass testing” ahead of the travel window — with priority given to those in hotspot areas. But the requisite capacity does not yet exist, and one institution has warned it will require a “massive undertaking” to install it. 

Michelle Donelan, the universities miniser, said it has been a "very difficult" term for students and the government wanted to allow them to go home for Christmas.

However, the Union and College Union (UCU) said England’s plans for the Christmas return “raise as many questions as they answer” and are “riddled with holes”. 

Jo Grady, the union’s general secretary, said: “Allowing just a week for around one million students to travel across the country leaves little room for error.”

Barnaby Fournier, a first-year student at the University of Manchester, told The Independent he was “very angry at the decision to send us home early”, adding he was hoping to stay for a couple more weeks.

“I doubt we will get accommodation refunds for the time we’re sent home,” he said. “Our tuition fee also pays for things like access to library study spaces which we don’t have at home.”

The National Union for Students (NUS) president told The Independent rent rebates should be on the table following the Christmas guidance, as “it is clear students will be expected to leave term-time accommodation earlier than usual”. 

Students in England have been advised to go home during the travel window, which comes after a month of national lockdown measures – which Ms Donelan said means "the risk that these students pose is now much more reduced".  

Universities have also been told to move all learning online after this period in early December, so students can carry on with their studies after going home.

Those who remain at university after 9 December have been warned they run the risk of having to self-isolate for up to 14 days after contracting coronavirus or contact tracing, and not being able to travel home for the Christmas break. “We therefore ask higher education providers to help reiterate this message so that students can make an informed choice,” the guidance says.

Meanwhile, students coming home to England from elsewhere in the UK have been urged to abide by two weeks of “refined behaviour” by the universities minister, who told BBC Breakfast there would be a communications campaign “so they know exactly what to do”.

Students across Scotland will be advised to only go out for essential reasons and exercise for two weeks before going home for the Christmas holidays, the country's higher education minister said on Wednesday.

University students in Wales will also be asked to minimise their social contact with others in the run up to the end of term, and have been told to make arrangements to move from their term-time accommodation by 9 December.

The Department for Education (DfE) said mass testing would play a part in the Christmas return in England, and the government would be working closely with universities to establish capacity for this. 

The Independent understands all universities have been invited to take part in mass testing – however, it is unclear at this stage whether everyone interested will be able to take part. 

“We are working with universities to facilitate as much testing as possible," Ms Donelan told BBC Breakfast on Wednesday, "but our target will be for those universities that have had higher infection rates, in areas that have higher R rates, also that have higher percentage of vulnerable students.”

However, the establishment of testing capacity will be a "massive undertaking", an executive dean at Durham University warned.

The university is exploring whether it is feasible to roll out mass testing across the whole institution before Christmas after a voluntary pilot into rapid coronavirus testing. 

On the government's plans to establish mass testing capacity on campuses, Professor Jacqui Ramagge, executive dean and project sponsor, said: “I don't think very many [universities] will be prepared for this.”

Meanwhile, the UCU said the plans for mass testing “come with immense practical challenges to overcome in a very short window”. 

Under the government guidance, tests will be offered to as many students as possible before they travel home for Christmas, with English universities in areas of high prevalence prioritised.

Universities have been encouraged to offer rapid result Covid tests so students have enough time to self-isolate before returning home for Christmas, with those who test positive having to self-isolate for 10 days.

The NUS welcomed plans for mass testing, with president Ms Kennedy adding: “The government must now ensure that universities have enough resource to cope with the mass demand for this testing.”

Ms Donelan, the universities minister, said: "We know this Christmas will feel different, and following this incredibly difficult year we are delivering on our commitment to get students back to their loved ones as safely as possible for the holidays.

"We have worked really hard to find a way to do this for students, while limiting the risk of transmission.”

The minister added: "Now it is vital they follow these measures to protect their families and communities, and for universities to make sure students have all the wellbeing support they need, especially those who stay on campus over the break."

Additional reporting by Press Association