Eight in ten students have returned to university despite Government ban
Eight in ten students have returned to university despite the Government's ban, official data shows.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that 82 per cent of students were living at their term-time address last Month, up from 76 per cent in March.
The survey of over 1,400 students also showed that the number of university students in England who said they were living with their parents dropped to just over a third last month.
The poll was conducted last month after the Department for Education (DfE) announced that remaining students would not be allowed to return to campus until mid-May at the earliest.
The only students allowed to return to campus following the Christmas break were those doing degrees that require face-to-face teaching for a professional qualification, such as medicine and dentistry.
On March 8, students on creative or practical courses such as performing arts were also allowed back. But around half of the UK’s student population – roughly one million students – continue to be banned from taking up residence at their term-time accommodation and resuming face-to-face lectures until May 17 at the earliest.
At the time, vice-Chancellors warned that forcing students to stay at home after the Easter break was “illogical”, as they pointed out that gyms, spas, zoos and theme parks would be allowed to open from April 12.
Some university leaders then wrote to students to highlight the “exceptional” circumstances in which they would be allowed to return – including if their mental health was suffering or if they had inadequate study space at home.
The ONS survey was carried out between April 15 and 22, just days after the Government announced that all remaining students in England would not be allowed to return to campus until May 17 at the earliest.
At the time, just 36 per cent said they were living with their parents last month, compared with 41 per cent the month before.
The DfE guidance says: "Wherever possible, providers should not ask students to return to their term-time accommodation before they return to in-person teaching and learning."
The ONS survey suggests more than a fifth (22 per cent) of students reported feeling lonely often or always in April. This is a fall from 26 per cent in March, but is still far greater than the six per cent of the adult population in Great Britain reporting the same over a similar period.
More than half (53 percent) said their wellbeing and mental health had worsened since the start of the academic year, less than the 63% reported in March.
Tim Gibbs, head of the ONS's Student Covid-19 Insights Study, said: "Students have started to report significant improvements in their life satisfaction and mental health, likely due to the lifting of lockdown restrictions allowing them to socialise with family and friends and spend more time outdoors.
"However, both life satisfaction and mental health and well-being remain significantly lower than the general adult population, with more of the student population reporting they felt lonely often or always than in the adult population in April.”
