Scotland works with nations to allow students home for Christmas

John Swinney says the Scottish government is doing everything it can to get students home for Christmas.

The deputy first minister said the four nations were trying to co-ordinate the mass movement of students to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19.

He said he recognised the importance of family and community occasions but that suppressing the virus was paramount.

In September, hundreds of students tested positive for coronavirus as universities across the UK began the new term, with thousands told to self-isolate in halls.

Students were asked to stay away from parties, pubs and restaurants for a weekend and were only allowed to return home if they could self-isolate and their households went into quarantine.

At the time Nicola Sturgeon said it was "absolutely our priority" to make sure that students are able to return home for Christmas.

John Swinney told the BBC the four nations had been working on a solution.

He said: "We are working closely with the university community and also with the other nations of the United Kingdom to make sure we can support students to return home at Christmas time.

"That is our intention to make sure that is possible but we are looking closely at the practical steps that will have to be undertaken to make sure that movement of people around the country at Christmas time is done in as safe a way as possible and in a way that does not in any way fuel the growth and the development of the virus."

He added: "We want to get students home for Christmas. We think that's a really important part of the lives of students and their families so we want to make that practical and possible."

Meanwhile, students from Edinburgh University staged a protest over their "mistreatment" by the institution during the coronavirus pandemic.

Protesters claim the university made a "false promise" of hybrid learning and said many students would not have taken out leases on flats if they had known most learning would be online.

They also claim the university's treatment of first years has been "terrible", saying that the university has "locked them in halls of residences with zero regard for their mental health and wellbeing".

Students gathered to protest in the city's Bristo Square on Saturday, calling for better treatment and services and an "actual provision of hybrid learning", saying if the university cannot provide this then a cut in fees for the online semester is needed.

The university said academic and support staff had been working "tirelessly" to provide students with the world-class education that they expect from the institution.

A spokeswoman said: "We have been working closely with the Students' Union and other student groups to ensure that their views are heard at the highest level.

"Students are receiving a hybrid learning experience, in line with Scottish government guidance, with some in-person teaching taking place on campus. We are delivering more than 95,000 hours of teaching this semester and more than 35,000 hours of these are scheduled to take place on campus. "