OLDHAM East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams has accused the government of ignoring the concerns of two million university students during the Covid-19 crisis in relation to exams, accommodation costs, and financial difficulties caused through the loss of earnings from casual employment.

A letter sent to Universities Minister, Michelle Donelan, three weeks ago - signed by Mrs Abrahams and 109 other cross party MPs - from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Students, has gone unanswered.

She said: “This is a serious issue for around two million students up and down the country and it’s unacceptable that the minister has ignored their concerns.

“We’re calling on the minister to establish a flexible approach to assessment, refunds of rents on unoccupied accommodation, and a temporary suspension of the rule preventing students claiming universal credit.

“These three issues are causing deep concern among students and need the sort of radical government action we have seen for others. We’re simply asking for students to be treated like other part-time workers in relation to lost earnings and for contracts not to be enforced where accommodation has been vacated due to public health advice.

“On exams, we want students to be given the choice on how they will be assessed, recognising that the shift to online teaching will have affected them differently.”

Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central and chair of the APPG for Students, who co-ordinated the letter campaign, has now written to the minister a second time.

Mr Blomfield said: “There are over two million university students who urgently need peace of mind on these issues.

“So far, their concerns have been overlooked in this crisis. We’re asking the government to give them reassurance without further delay.”

On exams, the MPs are asking the government to work with Universities UK, the Office for Students (OfS) and the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) to secure agreement that students should be given the choice of either being awarded a final degree based on prior achievement; sitting exams remotely within the normal timescale; postponing exams to the autumn’ or resitting the year without further fees and with additional financial support.