UK universities impose heavy fines on students for flouting COVID-19 restrictions

Amid the spike in COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom, universities across the country have fined students for breaching safety rules in the first weeks of the new academic year. According to reports, the universities have fined the students more than £170,000 (approximately $226,210) for flouting COVID-19 restrictions.

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28 institutions fined students for violating norms

According to The Guardian reports, 28 institutions fined students for violating university, local, and national COVID-19 rules. The rules included mandatory face coverings, household mixing, and social distancing, as per responses from 105 universities to freedom of information (FoI) requests.

The students of the University of Nottingham are reported to have paid more than one-third of the total amount, with 91 students fined a total of £58,865 up to November 12. The university informed that the individual fines it issued were up to £1,500.

The report further revealed that the fines were imposed on 1,898 students and the total amount collected summed up to £170,915. Meanwhile, most universities only revealed fines levied in the first two to three weeks of the term while some said the money would be paid into their student hardship fund.

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Wide variations in penalties imposed

The FoI findings further disclosed that wide variations in the penalties imposed on students by different universities as well as in the support provided to those self-isolating or seeking psychological help during the pandemic. According to the findings, 53 universities said they disciplined and cautioned a total of 5,122 students. Nottingham topped the list with 672 students fined and with  21 cases pending, the next in the list is Leeds Beckett with 403 students along with Oxford Brookes with 340 students followed by Manchester University and Aberdeen University with 334 and 215 students being fined respectively.

Aberdeen University revealed the second-highest value of fines £32,250 by 24 November. However, the university did not disclose how many students this figure covered but said it had imposed fines of £17,750 on 140 students by 15 October. Most fines were £125 but a small number of repeat offenders were told to pay £250, the university said.

Meanwhile, Oxford Brookes imposed the highest number of COVID-19 restrictions related fines on 326 students, totalling £18,950. While Leeds University imposed 343 fines but said it could not extrapolate how many were for breaches of COVID regulations and did not disclose their value. St Andrews University imposed fines totalling £13,240 on 193 students, according to the report.

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