Student barred at not-so Open University

♦ The Open University has become embroiled in a row with Cuba, after it emerged that it does not allow Cuban students to enrol on its courses.

The ban came to light when a Cuban student was told by university management that Cuba was on a list of “restricted countries”. The university is now under investigation by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. An EHRC spokesperson said: “The Equality Act makes it unlawful for universities to discriminate against students based on nationality when deciding who to offer admission to.”