Students could be given the green light to sue their universities for more than half a billion pounds over lost learning from Covid and strikes
- More than 120,000 students joined the legal action by the Student Group Claim
Students could be given the green light to sue universities for more than half a billion pounds in compensation over learning lost to Covid and strikes.
A legal judgment opens the door to a torrent of claims – with every student who attended university since 2018 potentially in line for an average of £5,000.
The High Court yesterday indicated that almost 5,000 current or former University College London students would be allowed to sue as a group.
In her ruling, Judge Barbara Fontaine said: ‘However these claims and other similar claims are managed, it would clearly not be proportionate for them to proceed separately as single actions.’
The judge encouraged UCL to resolve the claim out of court and paused proceedings for eight months. The case is likely to proceed to trial if an agreement cannot be reached.
Every student who attended university since 2018 could potentially be in line for an average of £5,000 [File image]
More than 120,000 students have joined the legal action by the Student Group Claim (file image of university graduates)
This would not guarantee the claim will be successful, but it creates the possibility of similar lawsuits against more than 100 other universities for lost teaching hours and enforced remote learning.
Seventeen other institutions, including Imperial College London and the Universities of Manchester and Leeds, have received legal letters notifying them of a similar claim. Students were taught online during the pandemic and a hybrid model has remained in place at some institutions. Thousands of hours have been lost to strikes yet universities still charged £9,250 a year for undergraduate fees and up to £25,000 for graduates.
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More than 120,000 students have joined the legal action by the Student Group Claim, with universities potentially facing a bill of more than half a billion pounds. UCL resisted the students’ bid to join together their claims for damages.
Its lawyers argued that instead each student must first go through the university’s internal complaints procedures and those of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.
John Taylor KC, for UCL, said in written arguments that existing complaints procedures were ‘fair, transparent and accessible’ and a court case was not warranted.
He added that it was implied UCL was targeted for a ‘pilot’ group claim because it was ‘wealthy and profited from students fees’. He warned more claims would follow.
However Anna Boase KC, representing the students, said UCL’s proposal was ‘very unlikely to lead to a satisfactory resolution of the claims and would amount to no more than a tick-box exercise which delays access to justice’.
She told the court students had ‘entered into a bargain with UCL for which they had to pay handsomely’, adding: ‘They didn’t get what they bargained for and they seek justice.’
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