When will Universities Reopen?
The 2020-2021 academic year has been quite different to what anyone was expecting, but now with restrictions beginning to lift, what does this mean for students?
Boris Johnson has announced his roadmap for coming out of lockdown and one of the main priorities was education. So, from the 8th of March, schools and further education settings, colleges and universities are set to reopen. For universities however, only courses that require practical teaching and on-site assessments to finish their courses will be welcoming their students back on the 8th of March. All other courses will continue online.
If you do not fall into the category of needing practical teaching then the current Government guidance is it will “review by the end of the Easter holidays, the options for timing of the return”. Reviews will all depend on the latest data the Government has at the time and all changes will be subject to a one weeks’ notice period.
University students who are lucky enough to be able to return will be subject to updated Government guidelines such as extending the wearing of face coverings for a limited period indoors.
Students who return for face-to-face teaching will be restricted to people who are studying any of the following:
- Medicine
- Dentistry
- Veterinary Science
- Subjects Allied to Medicine/Health
- Educational – Initial Teacher Training
- Social Studies – Social Work
- Policing
These are subjects that will support the pipeline of future critical workers. All remaining courses will continue to be offered and taught online.
It is difficult to say how long these restrictions will last as it will depend entirely on how the pandemic progresses in order to allow the country to move on to the next phase of the roadmap.
So, in summary unless your course requires practical teaching, it looks as though things will carry on as is until at least after Easter.
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