Student tuition fees and student debt

That this House welcomes the move to online university learning in order to combat the spread of the covid-19 virus; is concerned that the Government took this decision after months of scientific and trade union advice; notes that the University and College Union (UCU) warned against students returning to universities in August 2020 and that on the 26th September 2020 the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) recommended a shift to online learning unless face-to-face teaching is absolutely essential; is concerned that, according to UCU, there have been over 52,000 positive cases of covid-19 in UK higher and further education institutions; recognises that students have been required to stay in their university halls, which placed an intolerable strain on mental health, and that now students are learning online, thus missing out on the usual university experience, and cannot return to the campuses they are incurring an average of £57,0000 worth of debt to attend; believes that the last decade of extortionate tuition fees has been a failed experiment, which has saddled young people with debt, deterred working class people from gaining a higher education and turned our universities into profit-seeking business; and calls on the Government to refund rents, scrap tuition fees, cancel student debt for good and ensure that young people are not punished for seeking an education.