Students need real teaching – not virtual campuses

The recent U-turn on masks in schools will likely undermine teaching, not only in schools but also further afield. It will embolden growing calls for university teaching to go fully online when the academic year restarts next month. Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, is consistently urging the government and university leaders to curb face-to-face teaching on campuses as much as possible. Her demands follow elite universities in the US such as Harvard and Yale which have already committed to online teaching. Many British academics seem to be against reopening campuses over the next few weeks, preferring that universities go fully online while claiming that in-person teaching risks the health of staff.

At the moment, British universities are committed to a so-called ‘blended learning’ model, in which large lectures will be run online, with face-to-face teaching for smaller seminar groups and lab work. While one obvious reason is Covid, another justification is the £9,250 fees every student pays per year.