Education Secretary tells students to stay in halls and not return home

There were several reports of students leaving.

Pollock Halls at Edinburgh University

Education Secretary John Swinney has warned students to stay in their halls of residence, amid reports that many had fled home to avoid Covid-19 restrictions.

Speaking in the wake of a spike in cases at universities, he said students staying in accommodation would minimise the spread of Covid-19 to other parts of the country.

Mr Swinney told the BBC's Politics Scotland programme: “Our advice to students is that they should stay in their halls if they are able to do so and that's to ensure that we minimise the spread of the virus around the country."It's important that any student that is self-isolating or students in general in the situation that they are facing are given the full and proper support of the college or the university that is supporting them, and that's an issue that we've prioritised in our discussions with universities in the course of the past few days."

He said that even students who receive a negative test result for the virus should remain in place.

It comes after reports of students fleeing their university accommodation to return home.

"A lot of people are going home or already have done,” one student staying in Edinburgh University halls of residence told the Evening News.

Matt Crilly, president of NUS Scotland, said students should be able to return home if they wish.

"Students who want to stay need excellent support from their institutions. But those who have decided that halls are not for them deserve the option of returning home and learning online when it is safe to do so,” he said.

Students were told not to mix with other households this weekend or venture out to pubs and restaurants.

Guidance issued by Universities Scotland on Friday September 24 warned students that there must be “no parties, and no socialising outside their households”, adding, “this weekend, the first of the new tighter Scottish Government guidance, we will require students to avoid all socialising outside of their households and outside of their accommodation.”

But Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland, said on Sunday evening that the earlier guidance had been “a request, not a ban”.

“This weekend, we asked all students not to go out to pubs, restaurants and cafes,” he said.

"It was a request, not a ban. It was never a ban. But we know it was a big ask; one that asked more from students, for the course of one weekend, than is currently being asked of the rest of the general public.

"It was an appeal to a diverse student body that we know is caring, responsible and socially-minded.”