Student class action against 36 universities in the UK for lack of education in Covid era

Class action lawsuits are in the offing for at least 36 British universities, called to answer legally for the insufficient level of education guaranteed to students during the most acute phases of the Covid pandemic, including restrictions and distance learning: an insufficient level, according to the prosecution, in relation to the cost of fees paid in full even in those years.

The civil suit has been entrusted to a team of lawyers and could involve up to more than 170,000 students in total, the BBC reports. The legal initiative has been triggered after a single precedent, brought last year on behalf of some 6,000 students by a group called the Student Claim Group against the prestigious University College London (UCL) and concluded with an out-of-court settlement: i.e. with the payment of a confidentially agreed sum of money to settle the case without going to trial (and without admission of liability on the part of the university institution).

Universities UK, a cartel representing 140 universities in the UK, criticised the class action lawsuit filed now claiming that universities have faced 'an unprecedented challenge' in the Covid era, finding themselves forced to 'not be able to offer face-to-face teaching during lockdown periods', yet managing to resort to 'rapid and creative means to enable students to complete their degree courses'.