Telford MP hits out at Government's 'shameful silence' on university marking boycott

It comes as action is being taken by members of the University and College Union (UCU), at 145 institutions across the UK, due to a dispute over pay and working conditions.

It has meant a paper marking boycott by staff, which has affected students' exams and dissertations, causing uncertainty for future job offers as well as putting postgraduate studies on hold.

Now, Telford MP Lucy Allan has called out the Department for Education for their "silence" on the matter, saying that Parliament seems to be more interested in "grandstanding" about former PM Boris Johnson than tackling the issue.

A statement by MP Lucy Allan read: "Across the country, university students are packing up bags and boxes, and going off into the world, having completed their studies.

"They are, however, leaving without being awarded the degree for which they have worked so hard.

"Our universities are acting as if this farce is perfectly normal and to be expected in the world of British academia, saying 'due to the marking boycott, degrees will be awarded at a later date in absentia'.

"Exams are unmarked, dissertations are unread, causing uncertainty over job offers, and putting plans for postgraduate studies on hold.

"The degrees for which these young people worked so hard, already interrupted by strikes and Covid, consisted mainly of recorded online lectures, PowerPoints and zoom calls.

"For this privilege, young people paid £27,000, plus maintenance and other costs. Many parents as well as students find themselves in debt supporting their children through university.

"British universities, our proudest export? With the focus on the money overseas students can bring taking priority over all else, do we really think today’s students would agree?

"They see universities treating them as nothing more than cash cows."

The MP went on to refer to this as a "British higher education scam" and a "betrayal" for those students who worked hard to secure their place at university.

"There has been silence from the Department of Education, who are not fighting for students. There has been no parliamentary time allocated to this issue, no statement from the Secretary of State," MP Allan added.

"It is the responsibility of the Department to resolve the concerns of students and they seem unwilling to tackle the issue. The Secretary of State, who famously has never been a student, seems entirely unperturbed.

"Parliament has been too busy grandstanding about a former Prime Minister who left office a year ago to focus its attention on the young people emerging into an uncertain world, with nothing to show for their money and time."

The Department for Education said in a statement on the strikes earlier this month: "The Government has no direct role in UCU industrial action as it’s the responsibility of individual colleges and universities to set pay for their staff.

"However, we want this disagreement resolved in a way that avoids disrupting students’ learning, especially given the difficulties students have faced during the pandemic.

"We strongly encourage a resolution that delivers good value for students, staff, and universities."