Credit: Mikael Kristenson
The university experience for students across the country has been unlike anything they would have imagined when they first applied. 2020 has brought about many key changes to the way that people go about their everyday lives and, thanks to Covid-19, it’s been especially difficult for university students. They have been hit hard by measures beyond their control and many are unhappy by the mismanagement of the issue in terms of how it impacts them personally.
Many university students have found that they’ve spent £9,000 on online lectures – something they could have got from home. They have moved hundreds of miles across the country to accommodation that they can barely afford to study from their rooms. They are struggling – struggling to get through this strenuous experience and struggling to understand why they were put into this position in the first place.
In the coming weeks, mass testing has been proposed for many universities in the UK in an effort to validate whether students will be eligible to return back to their hometowns for Christmas. However, this will put into question the next steps beyond then. Will they be required to do the same to return to university? What happens if they test positive at home and can’t make it back in time to sit examinations or submit work?
The promise of a vaccine being ready in time for the end of the year will bring about a lot of hope for people across the country. Since the outbreak began it was the thing most looked for as the escape route towards normal life. We can see the light now, but information concerning the rollout suggests that students will be among the last to receive this treatment.
Only time will tell whether we are tackling the issue in the best way possible, but it’s clear that students are really suffering as a result of all of this. For many studying in courses that simply do not require any practical or in-person sessions. We have to question whether it would be better that they decided to close universities until the vaccination has been administered widely and measures such as social distancing are greatly reduced.
What are your Christmas plans? Are you planning to go back to your hometown for Christmas? Have you left university early, due to a lack of necessity for in-person lectures? Would you prefer if you studied the rest of your degree from home? Tell us what you think and what your plans are for the immediate future.
