Universities

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 2:21 pm on 25 November 2020.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 2:21, 25 November 2020

Thank you, Mick. I would like, indeed, to put on record my thanks to universities—the University of South Wales and, indeed, all our institutions of higher education—that have worked incredibly hard over the start of this academic year to maintain quality educational experiences, to look after the welfare of their students, and to play their part in managing public health risk in the middle of a global pandemic. And I'd like to thank the students themselves, who are doing their bit to follow the rules, keeping themselves and their friends safe. We are seeing the virus incidence rates decline in most of our universities, which is very welcome and we hope that that trend will continue. We're working very closely with our vice-chancellors; indeed, I met with them all at the beginning of this week to reflect on the experiences to date and to make sure that measures are in place to see a successful end to this term and to begin to plan for a safe return in January. And clearly, we're also working with colleagues in other parts of United Kingdom, given the fact that many of our students travel in and out of Wales to England, to Scotland and to Northern Ireland. Where at all possible, we are seeking to have a common approach to managing that process.