Teach in person or give refunds, universities told
STUDENTS should apply for refunds from vice-chancellors on “eye-watering” salaries if they are not taught face to face, the universities minister has said.
Demanding that universities “offer students good value for money”, Michelle Donelan encouraged disgruntled students to apply for their money back through the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA).
Students in English universities pay up to £9,250 a year in fees. Despite the rolling back of Covid restrictions, more than 100 institutions have moved their lectures, seminars and tutorials online.
Meanwhile, dozens of head teachers are defying the Government over face coverings in the classroom by insisting that children continue to wear them despite the official guidance being changed this week.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Miss Donelan said: “We have had two very difficult years and during the pandemic there was a place for blended learning but things have changed.
“Now really is the time that universities need to get back to face-to-face teaching fully, not just a token amount.”
Urging students to complain anonymously to the Office for Students (OFS) watchdog in the first instance, she added: “If the situation is still not resolved, they can take complaints to the OIA and that can lead to a refund. We saw refunds in the tens of thousands during the pandemic.”
Asked if she was actively encouraging students to apply, she said: “Absolutely. Students should have a better deal. They are consumers. They’re paying a substantial amount of money that’s an investment in their own lives.” The MP for Chippenham, who was appointed to the role in February 2020, said she had received complaints from students and parents about the lack of face-to-face teaching.
Ms Donelan also took aim at “staggering” vice-chancellor pay after OFS data showed Sir Steve Smith, the former head of the University of Exeter, was the most highly remunerated in 2019-20, on a package of £584,000.
“I am not going to defend a salary that is that high,” she said. “There’s no denying some of these vice-chancellor salaries are eye-watering and staggering.”
The minister said students had “led the way” on vaccinations, with more than 80 per cent of over-18s double jabbed, and added: “I’ve told vice-chancellors this week, ‘You need to ensure you are delivering on what you promised to students’, because … we’ve got to learn to live with this virus now.”
‘There is no denying some of these vice-chancellor salaries are eye-watering and staggering’