The anger, upset and anxiety of Manchester's students who feel they've been 'forgotten'

University students in Greater Manchester have reacted with anger after the government announced face-to-face teaching would not resume before May 17.

Thousands of students across the region have been denied in-person lectures since September, in a bid to curb coronavirus infection rates.

The government have been criticised for putting university students at the bottom of the priority list, as they've been told they will not be able to return to campus until next month at the earliest.

For many students, teaching will have already finished for the summer by that date.

Creative and practical university students had already started returning to campus from March 8 - the same time as schools.

But around half of students are still learning remotely, with many of them paying £9,250 - a fee that some feel should be refunded, at least in part.

Isabella Jewell is in her final year at the University of Manchester, studying French and Italian.

Despite the course have many practical elements, her degree is not considered to be a 'practical' one, so she has been learning online since September last year.

The 22-year-old was due to spend the most part of 2020 in Italy on a year abroad, but this had to be cut short due to the pandemic.

"It kind of feels like the last year hasn't really happened because we haven't had a single in person class since September," she said.

"I think we have covered less content this year because it takes much more time to organise things online, particularly when you have issues with WIFI and things like that."

Isabella says she is 'not surprised' by the government's decision to resume face-to-face teaching in the latter stages of the road map.

"It just reaffirms my view that students are last on their priority list," she said.

"It's not surprising they've announced a date that is after term ends. We finish teaching two weeks before that date.

"We've been geared up to do online exams so if now they turn around and say the exams are going to be in person, that is going to cause a lot of anxiety."

Isabella says she and her fellow final year students have already been informed that they will not have a graduation ceremony.

"That is a really big deal for a lot of students," she said.

"It is such a shame that we won't have that celebration and closure on what has been quite a hard year.

"Now I'm graduating into the worst job market in decades, and won't have the closure of ending my degree in person, or a graduation ceremony."

Isabella says she feels strongly that students should be refunded in-part for the last academic year.

She believes her degree has been 'devalued' by the lack of face-to-face teaching.

"We have definitely not been given the normal standard of degree and I don't think we should be paying full price for it," she said.

"Students haven't been able to use any of the facilities for over a year. The libraries have just reopened but there is very limited space.

"I will back any movement that asks for a refund in fees but we have been asking for it already and there has just been a big wall."

salford-university>Salford University student, Jonna Rogers, say the announcement about face-to-face teaching is 'frustrating.'

The 21-year-old Multimedia Journalism student hasn't been into university since before the latest lockdown in January.

"This time last year the government were saying go to university it will be okay and people have paid £9,000 and not got the service they deserve," Jonna said.

"I feel I've had a better deal as before lockdown I was able to go into university for one module, and worked online for the other two.

"I do give credit to my lecturers who have really done the best they can."

Jonna's teaching ends around the end of May, meaning she would only have a small number of face-to-face classes if teaching was to resume on May 17.

For Jonna, who has decided to stay living with her parents in Stockport, the price of this year's tuition is her biggest issue.

"Students are obviously going to be upset because we are paying nearly £10,000 a year and we want the best service," she said.

"I think at the least there should be a partial refund."

Jonna says she feels as though university students have been forgotten by the government, particularly when it comes to making announcements.

"Every time there is a new announcement they talk about shops and hairdressers and primary and secondary schools," she said.

"It seems university students are the last on everyone's list.

Jonna is sceptical about the outlook for students next year, and says she is 'trying not to get her hopes up.'

"I really don't know how things will look next year because things are looking promising at the moment, but things were looking promising this time last year too."

What the universities say

A University of Salford spokesperson said: "The disruption to university students caused by the pandemic and subsequent government restrictions has meant that students have not had the university experience that they would normally have enjoyed, especially with the social experiences that are such a large part of university life.

"Wherever possible, we have tried to provide a blended approach to teaching and learning, combining online learning with as much face-to-face as possible within the parameters of government guidance.

"The issue of tuition fee refunds is a sector-wide issue and at the University of Salford we have been calling on the government for many months to urgently address the issue.

"This is not one that can be left to individual universities – which have different financial positions – to respond to tuition fee refund calls independently. The government must step in to ensure a consistent and fair national solution.

"We also feel that not allowing students to return to COVID safe campuses where there is no evidence of virus spread, yet allow the general public to access a full range of both retail and personal services is inconsistent and incomprehensible."

A University of Manchester spokesperson said: "We cannot wait to finally welcome all of our students back on campus and we share their frustrations.

"Wider parts of society are starting to open up, yet universities are still severely restricted in the on-campus teaching we can offer.

"Our University would like to see a return to in-person teaching as soon as possible, and it is disappointing that this will not be happening before we enter our assessment and examination period in May."

What the Government says

A Department for Education statement said: "The timing aligns with Step 3 of the Government’s roadmap, where restrictions on social contact and indoor mixing will be further eased.

"[It] aims to limit potential public health risks associated with student populations moving across the country."