Five million pound fund to be made available to support Scottish students

The news was announced in a press briefing on coronavirus this afternoon


First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced today that a £5 million fund will be made available to support students in Scotland, in wake of the current health pandemic.

Students struggling during the COVID-19 crisis will be able to apply directly to their college or university for these funds. The news was announced in a Scottish government press briefing on coronavirus this afternoon.

The announcement will be well-received by young people across the country, with many students having voiced their worries about being left behind by the UK government thus far. No further details have been released on the fund and how to claim from it so far, but it is most definitely good news for the students.

In terms of how Scottish unis have responded to the coronavirus pandemic so far, the University of Edinburgh has already put in place a “no detriment” policy, which means that no remaining exams or essays due to be submitted for any courses the rest of the semester will negatively impact students’ grades. Glasgow University followed the same approach, revealing in an email sent to students that their marks for the rest of the semester will only count if they are an improvement on assessments or exams already taken.

A statement on the University of Dundee website reads: “We always operate a ‘no detriment’ approach to any study disruption to ensure that students achieve the correct degree outcome and are in no way disadvantaged as a result of circumstances that impact the whole institution”, whilst a ‘no detriment’ policy has not yet been confirmed at the University of Aberdeen.

A statement on the website reads: “We have listened to students who have asked that we consider implementing a ‘no detriment’ policy.

“We are sympathetic to these requests and are minded to introduce such a policy. You will appreciate that this is a complex piece of work and will take a bit of time to undertake. I will be in a position to provide you with an update on this next week.”