British Students Abroad: Russia and Ukraine

(asked on 24th March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the capacity of British universities to support the continuing education of British (a) students and (b) medical students who had been studying in Ukraine or Russia and whose education has been disrupted as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine or subsequent international sanctions on Russia.


Answered by
Michelle Donelan Portrait
Michelle Donelan
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
This question was answered on 29th March 2022

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice is that British nationals should leave Ukraine immediately if they judge it is safe to do so. The government does not track the location of British nationals when they travel. However, we are pleased that the majority of these students have now returned to the UK.

The government is very sympathetic to those students that have had their studies disrupted and will look to support UK students returning from Russia and Ukraine as they reassess their options in the UK. The department has asked universities to treat these students sensitively.

I have convened the Higher Education (HE) Taskforce, bringing together representatives from across the sector to discuss how we can work together to facilitate the progression of Ukrainian students to HE. There are still many courses available through UCAS that students can apply for, and we would encourage them to engage in conversations with their preferred HE providers to understand the full range of options available specifically to them.

The department recognises that, for a variety of reasons, many students that were studying medicine in Ukraine cannot be accommodated on medicine courses. Therefore, we are encouraging universities to consider alternative options to allow these students to continue their studies. These include related courses in the biological sciences or subjects allied to medicine.

The department is also looking into how the HE sector can support Ukrainian HE providers should it be appropriate or feasible for elements of the course or exams to be delivered remotely and I have recently written to the HE sector asking them to be flexible and sensitive when considering applications for entry onto courses.

Whilst HE providers are autonomous and independent from government, we are encouraging them to be as flexible as possible for all students impacted by the situation in Ukraine and where they are facing challenges, to ensure support is given where it is most needed.

Reticulating Splines