Universities

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Education – in the Senedd at 2:17 pm on 25 November 2020.

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Photo of Andrew RT Davies Andrew RT Davies Conservative 2:17, 25 November 2020

Thank you, Minister, for that reply. I appreciate universities are independent institutions, but, obviously, there was a big movement of students at the start of the academic year in September, and this will be the second opportunity for such a movement of students to be replicated, not just in Wales, but from across the United Kingdom and, indeed, international students. I heard what you said—you believe it's too early to come out with anything concrete at the moment—but can you identify any emerging themes that might need to be put in place to welcome students back in January, in particular around pastoral care? Obviously, we know that the January return does tend to have pressure points of students returning back in normal circumstances, but with the exceptionality that students face at the moment, the pastoral care of students is going to be of critical importance, and the work that Government can do to support universities, via public health et cetera, will be of critical importance, I would suggest.