Frustration all students in Greater Manchester won't return to campus until mid-May at earliest

University students in Greater Manchester have been left frustrated at the government’s decision to delay their return to campus until mid-May at the earliest.

Liam, 20, a Salford university student said: “For me personally all face-to-face teaching coming back on the 17th of May is a bit pointless.

“Deadlines for my uni work is literally two weeks after that, so it doesn’t make much of a different to me and all my work will basically be done.”

The return to campus which would include face to face teaching will only come following the scheduled easing of restrictions on social contact indoors.

In a written statement, the Universities Minister Michelle Donelan said all remaining students will be advised not to return to face-to-face teaching on campus until mid-May at the earliest.

She said: "The movement of students across the country poses a risk for the transmission of the virus - particularly because of the higher prevalence and rates of transmission of new variants.

"Students who have returned to higher education settings should not move back and forward between their permanent home and student home during term time unless they meet one of the exemptions.''

The decision came after university leaders in England intensified calls for students to be allowed to return to campus ASAP, taking into account that most seminars and lectures will be coming to an end at many universities by mid-May.

Connie Claxon is a student at Oxford university who is a part of the new #OurTurnToReturn campaign fighting for students ability to return to campus.

She said: “The news that students on non-practical courses cannot return to university until the 17th of May has been devastating for students.

“Why is it that students can now go to a zoo, or a theme park but we cannot return to university which we pay over 9 grand a year for?”

The majority of students in England, apart from those on essential courses, were told not to return to campus as part of the lockdown announced in January.

Those on practical courses began returning to campus on March 8th but it’s estimated around half of university students in England are still not eligible to return.

Professor Graham Galbraith, vice-chancellor at the University of Portsmouth, said delaying the return of all students until May 17 was "unfathomable''.

He added: "That this date is after many universities will have finished their teaching year shows a Government with a cavalier disregard for details. This isn't good enough.

“Students can now buy a book on British history in Waterstones and discuss it with a tattoo artist while they have their body decorated, but they cannot do the same thing in a Covid-secure environment with their university lecturer.”

Students who need additional mental health support, or don’t have access to appropriate study spaces in their vacation accommodation, are allowed to return to campus and term-time accommodation.

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