Now striking lecturers refuse to give reading lists to students

STRIKING university lecturers have been condemned for inflicting ‘academic sabotage’ after union bosses ordered them not to assist students who ask for help during a 14-day walkout.

The militant leadership of the lecturers’ University and College Union even told members not to hand out reading lists.

Students, who fork out more than £9,000-a-year in fees, have told The Mail on Sunday that staff had refused to give them any assistance during the row over academics’ pay and pension pots.

On its website, the UCU told picketing tutors: ‘You should refuse to reschedule [lectures or seminars] or share materials that would have been covered in the class or lecture.’

Tory MP David Morris said: ‘This is a cynical ploy to inflict maximum damage on students’ education. To instruct lecturers not to make any attempt to lessen the damage amounts to academic sabotage.’

It is the third wave of strikes since 2018, with the UCU warning of further action next term if there is no resolution to their long-running dispute.

In Scotland, the universities of Edinburgh, Dundee, Stirling and the Open University will take part in strikes from tomorrow until Wednesday and between March 2 to 17. The universities of Aberdeen, Glasgow, St Andrews and Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow School of Art and Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, will be hit by strikes until Wednesday and between March 2 and 13.

Despite more than 60,000 students signing petitions demanding a partial fee refund, the National Union of Students has backed the action.

However, a leaked email from one student union president warned that some may not graduate this year because of the walkout.

In it, Cardiff Student Union chief Jackie Yip told other union officials: ‘Further strike action will now mean some of my students will have missed so much content that they will not be able to graduate this year, even if there are mitigating actions put in place. We have not told students this as we do not want to cause panic.’

UCU general secretary Jo Grady has led a 50,000-strong walkout across 74 universities against plans to raise lecturers’ pension contributions.

Robert Halfon, chairman of the Commons Education Committee, said: ‘It is wrong that students are being denied lectures and everything possible is being done to exclude them from their rightful learning.

‘But the elephant in the room is the obscene racheting up of vice-chancellors’ salaries, along with senior management, at the expense of lecturers and other university staff.’

The UCU declined to comment.

‘Cynical ploy to inflict maximum damage’