What has become of the Great Britain we heard about? Foreign students rage over striking university lecturers holding their degrees to ransom after forking out £70,000 for UK education
- Students turn anger on lecturers after sixth year in a row of university strikes
International students who ‘sacrificed everything’ to go to university in Britain have been left appalled by the state of this country’s education system.
After six years of staff strikes in a row, lecturers and professors – whose salaries can exceed £100,000 – decided to hold a marking boycott this year, leaving many students without degrees at the end of term.
However, it may have backfired spectacularly because students have finally turned their anger on the striking lecturers who are holding their degrees to ransom over a pay dispute with university bosses.
Students from Royal Holloway told MailOnline they had been left with no degree, unable to get a graduate job or even stay in the country after paying more than £70,000 for their education.
The hard-pressed students have accused universities and student unions of pandering to the striking staff who are inflicting so much pain.
International students who ‘sacrificed everything’ to go to university in Britain have been left appalled by the state of this country’s education system. Students like Nkeiruka Whenu (left) and Rory Thompson-Bird (centre) have spoken out against their treatment
Students from Royal Holloway (pictured) told MailOnline they had been left with no degree, unable to get a graduate job or even stay in the country after paying more than £70,000 for their education
After six years of staff strikes in a row, lecturers and professors – whose salaries can exceed £100,000 – decided to hold a marking boycott this year, leaving many students without degrees at the end of term. Pictured: The University and College Union, which is organising the strikes has held strikes for years
Moad Sati, 21, is a computer science student at Royal Holloway from Morocco.
He said: ‘Coming from a developing country, my expectations were high but it’s upsetting to see those expectations unravel.
He said the university had kept him in the dark for months and left him ‘disheartened’ without any support.
He added: ‘It took the uni so long to be transparent with us.
‘Because of that I wasn’t able to apply for a masters, which is an issue for me if I want to be alt to apply for a Visa. I have to leave the UK and stay in my home country.
‘I feel robbed. They are just telling us to wait and wait and wait.
‘We have been waiting since May.’
Another computer science student told MailOnline after spending more than £70,000 on his education in Britain, ‘overall it hasn’t been that good’.
He said striking staff were to blame for ruining his time at university but added the university’s response left a lot to be desired.
He said: ‘I have a feeling they aren’t doing as much about it as they could be.
‘Everyone is at a standstill.
‘It’s not right that they are not marking our exams because of something that’s going on with them. I would like to see a bit more support from the Student Union.
‘It’s been over two months since I took my last exams.
‘It’s unfair. They are putting the lives of students on the line for [issues over their] pay.’
A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘It is unacceptable that students, many of whom have already suffered significant disruption to their studies over recent years, have faced further disruption and uncertainty due to strikes’
Computer science student Nkeiruka Whenu, 22, (pictured) said students were seeking compensation from the university. She told MailOnline: ‘We have had enough’
Although marking has since resumed, he said he won’t receive his grades for another few months, by which time the graduate jobs will all be gone.
In total he has paid more than £70,000 for four years of education in the UK, not including plane tickets from the UAE and living costs.
He added: ‘We have had to sell cars just for that. You can see how it feels when we have been sacrificing everything for this education and then not getting it back.’
The University and College Union (UCU) said it was taking the action in a bid to secure higher wages.
The marking and assessment boycott meant that from April 20, lecturers had not been grading coursework or exams, as they ceased carrying out duties beyond their contract.
When the boycott was announced, students branded it a ‘slap in the face’, with many fearing they will fail to graduate due to not receiving their marks in time.
The action is affecting 144 UK institutions.
The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) has repeatedly failed to reach an agreement over pay with the university unions.
Staff demanding a pay rise say their real-terms wages have been slashed by 20 per cent since 2009 – while more than half of vice chancellors are earning more than £300,000 per year.
Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said it was ‘irresponsible’ of academics not to let students move on with their careers.
READ MORE: Now staff at 140 universities across the UK vow to strike for five days at start of term amid long-running row over pay and working conditions
He said: ‘It’s very hard and unfair on the students and it’s a great pity that the university couldn’t come up with a better way of handling the situation.
‘And it’s irresponsible of academic staff to make it difficult for students to move on to the next phase of their lives.’
Meanwhile Dan Hawes, co-founder of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau (GRB), one of the UK’s biggest graduate recruitment consultancy, said employees risked being left in limbo.
He said: ‘Understandably, there will be some recruiters who want to see some evidence that they’ve completed their degree as a graduate.
‘But employers will have to accept that they’re going to have to hold on until October if they do want a definite grade.
‘They will be in limbo, it will have a knock-on effect.’
Computer science student Nkeiruka Whenu, 22, is also at Royal Holloway.
She said students were seeking compensation from the university.
Nkeiruka told MailOnline: ‘We have had enough.
‘People have been affected mentally, financially and in terms of their homes.
‘Our wellbeing team at Royal Holloway is atrocious.
‘The way Royal Holloway has approached this has been very poor.
‘They are making more than enough from the students to offer help or compensation.’
The latest financial reports revealed the University made £201million last year.
Royal Holloway’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Julie Sanders was paid more than £300,000.
Nkeiruka’s coursemate Dan, 22, is a disabled student who was left jobless after lecturers refused to mark almost half of the modules in his degree.
He said: ‘It felt like a bit of a kick in the teeth. I have had to apply for council housing.’
‘[Royal Holloway is] being very loosey goosey with how they are dealing with the whole situation.’
Jo Grady is the general secretary for the University and College Union, which is organising the strikes.
She told MailOnline: ‘The blame for the disruption in our universities lies firmly with the bosses, who have made it clear they would rather throw students under the bus than settle this dispute.
Jo Grady (pictured) is the general secretary for the University and College Union, which is organising the strikes. She told MailOnline: ‘The UK higher education sector presents itself as a world leader, but it is riddled with casualisation, insecurity and low pay – our members have no choice but to stand up for themselves’
One of the students at Royal Holloway told MailOnline: ‘It’s not right that they are not marking our exams because of something that’s going on with them. It’s unfair.’ Pictured: University staff on strike in September
‘The UK higher education sector presents itself as a world leader, but it is riddled with casualisation, insecurity and low pay – our members have no choice but to stand up for themselves.
‘Employers’ failure to use the sector’s huge wealth to support staff and allow students to graduate condemns higher education to continued disruption throughout the rest of the academic year.
‘Our members will not stop fighting until they get what they deserve.’
A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘It is unacceptable that students, many of whom have already suffered significant disruption to their studies over recent years, have faced further disruption and uncertainty due to strikes.
‘We strongly urge all parties involved in this industrial dispute to resume negotiations and to reach a resolution so that further disruption can be avoided.’
A spokesperson from Royal Holloway said: ‘We are very sorry for the disruption our students have experienced as part of the nationwide University and College Union’s (UCU) industrial action, and we have tried to mitigate the impact of the marking and assessment boycott on our students as much as we can.
‘The national UCU advised Royal Holloway on Wednesday 6 September that they have withdrawn their notice for the marking and assessment boycott, and are no longer asking their members to take part in the action. We very much welcome this announcement from UCU, as it means an end to the delay for any students who are still waiting for marks.
‘Our absolute priority is to ensure that marking is completed promptly so that we can provide all our students with their marks and outcomes. The vast majority of our students do already have their results, and we are communicating regularly with students in affected subjects.
‘We understand that the industrial action will have caused concerns and uncertainty, and we have set up a dedicated complaints procedure for any student who has been impacted by the disruption to results. We are also supporting our students with communications with potential employers or institutions, and our Careers service is available to provide support students for two years after they’ve graduated. Our International Student Support Office can support with any problems with student visas. We are encouraging any of our students who feels overwhelmed or anxious to seek support and advice from our Wellbeing team.’
Royal Holloway’s Student Union did not respond to a request for comment.
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