Struggling university students will have access to £50 million Covid-19 financial assistance fund

Universities will be able to use the additional funding to assist students who have lost their jobs, to cover the costs of alternative housing, or to support access to remote teaching. Covid-19

Students facing financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic will be eligible for an additional £50 million in government assistance.

Universities will be able to use the additional funding to assist students facing job loss, additional costs for alternative housing, or to support access to remote teaching during Covid-19.

Under the latest lockdown in England, the majority of university students have been advised to stay at home and not return to campus, prompting cries for further financial assistance.

A handful of universities have relocated their classes online until even later in the academic year, sparking rent rebates and tuition fee refund campaigns.

The government launched a one-off fund of up to £20 million in December to help students who are in desperate need of assistance due to unforeseen circumstances.

A further £50 million will now be available, bringing the total for this fiscal year to £70 million.

The money will be provided directly to colleges by the Office for Students (OfS), who will give priority to the students who need it the most.

Several universities and housing providers have already stated that they will not charge rent to students who are unable to use their university halls, but student activists and organizations have urged universities, housing providers, and ministers to go even further in providing compensation to students affected by the lockdown.

The Department for Education (DfE) has stated that it wants student housing providers, such as universities, to issue partial refunds to students and guarantee that their rental regulations are in the best interests of students.

Universities minister Michelle Donelan said: “This continues to be an incredibly difficult and challenging time for our students, and I am hugely grateful to all the university staff working hard to prioritize their health, wellbeing and learning during this pandemic.

“The additional £50 million that we are announcing today will mean we have distributed £70 million for hardship in this financial year alone – on top of the £256 million of Government-funded student premium which universities can use for student support this academic year.”

According to a poll released last week by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a growing number of university students are dissatisfied with their academic experience, and over two-thirds have seen their mental health deteriorate.

Ms Donelan added: “This additional support will provide real, tangible help for those students struggling financially as a result of the pandemic.”

But the University and College Union (UCU) general secretary Jo Grady described the funding as a “sticking plaster”.

She said: “Whilst we are glad the Government has finally recognized the mess their dithering and U-turns have created, it should not have taken students queueing for food banks, or waves of rent strikes, for the Government to start acknowledging the scale of the problem.

“Small-scale funding packages like this are simply a sticking plaster and not the answer to the widespread problems facing the sector. The Government needs to go further and provide proper funding to avoid irreparable long-term damage to the sector’s reputation.”

“As the serious mental health impact of the pandemic continues to be felt, universities need further funding to alleviate the substantial increases in demand that university wellbeing and support services are experiencing,” Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK (UUK), said of the additional funding.

“Although university staff are making huge efforts to offer high-quality online learning, the Government should provide support that recognizes that students are missing out on the wider student experience that they would benefit from in a normal year.”

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the OfS, said: “The pandemic is having a profound and ongoing impact on students, with some facing severe financial hardship and struggling to cover accommodation and other costs.

“This additional funding to help students facing financial hardship is welcome. We intend to distribute it as swiftly as possible to benefit those who are most in need. We will be writing to universities and colleges with more details shortly.”