The students were hopeful of joining the campuses after a UK government advice to the universities said they can start face-to-face classes and lift all Covid-19 restrictions
It is a relief as well as a disappointment for the students headed to the UK universities and their parents, as many top universities in the country have decided to continue the online mode in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Many international students who wanted to see the campuses are disappointed with the decision of the respective universities, while their parents are relieved because they did not want to take any chance with the health of their children.
The students were hopeful of joining the campuses after a UK government advice to the universities said they could start face-to-face classes and lift all Covid-19 restrictions.
“The UK government’s confidence to lift restrictions is derived from large scale vaccination in the country. Reports claim that vaccination in England has reached 89 per cent,” said an Indian parent whose son has taken admission in a London-based institution.
However, the universities are not taking any chance to avoid gatherings and keep in mind that many international students have not yet come back due to travel restrictions and pandemic protocols.
The universities, however, are not taking any chance to avoid gatherings and also keeping in mind that many international students have not yet come back due to travel restrictions and pandemic protocols
“For example, there is an old and pre-Covid protocol that students coming from India should have a tuberculosis test because India is considered a TB-prone country.
For this test, the UK has approved some test centres in India. But during the pandemic many students are living with their NRI parents in some country or the other. All those countries do not have TB approved centres. They have to come to India only to get the test done. Once they come back to India for the test, they can’t go back because many countries have put India in travel ‘red list’,” said another Indian parent whose son has taken admission in a masters course.
“There is a simple solution for this. During this unprecedented covid pandemic situation, the students should be allowed to get the tests done wherever they are located,” he said.
Most of the parents and teachers find a blended form of education the only solution in the current situation.