Cash refund and care package for students who have been told to stay in their halls
MMU students asked to stay in lockdown due to a coronavirus outbreak will get a cash refund worth more than a week’s rent.
Vice-Chancellor Malcolm Press appeared on Sky News this afternoon to face questions over the university’s handling of the saga.
Students and their parents have complained that they were given little warning of the lockdown on Friday evening before security guards turned up at the gate.
Over the weekend, legal commentators suggested the university and public health officials had no authority to order the students to stay put and posters appeared in their windows asking for help.
Police, Manchester Council and MMU bosses confirmed last night there is no legal enforcement of the lockdown but students are being asked to ‘do the right thing’ and selfisolate.
Professor Press said he understood their frustrations and that MMU is in the process of putting together a ‘care package’ including food and financial compensation for those affected.
He said: “I think it will be a package that students will appreciate.
“A financial package means hard cash, it will be a significant amount of money, what I am prepared to say is that it will be more than a week’s rent.
“Students will be receiving financial compensation to ensure they feel protected and cared for during this period of self-isolation.”
The announcement follows similar moves at Glasgow University, where students were refunded a month’s rent after they were forced to self-isolate due to a Covid-19 outbreak.
Following criticism of the response, the university offered the refund as well a £50 food payment to students and a promise of more drop-ins from support staff.
Prof Press added: “I recognise the impact that this situation is having on our students, particularly given the extremely short period of time we had to inform them of the decision. Many of them are away from home for the first time and still finding their feet.
“Their welfare is our top priority and that is why we have been working hard with organisations around the city since Friday evening to put in place support to help during this 14-day period.
“Our staff are on hand 24 hours a day to provide support, guidance and deal with concerns. We are unable to prevent our students from leaving the halls, but our students are bright young adults and we trust that they will do the right thing.”
The University has introduced a mixture of online and face-to-face teaching for this term, with the flexibility to switch fully online if needed.