La crise du coronavirus a mis en péril les plans des étudiants pour étudier à l'étranger. L'Université d'Édimbourg a annoncé la semaine dernière qu'elle annulait tous les projets d'études à l'étranger. Les étudiants se mobilisent pour contester la décision. Max Browning, étudiant en chinois et russe à l'Université d'Edimbourg.
https://soundcloud.com/euradio-fr/les-etudes-a-letranger-annulees-par-quelques-universites-europeennes“It’s commendable that the university cares about its students’ health and safety. Unfortunately, the United Kingdom is one of the most severely affected countries in the world by this pandemic. Quite frankly, saying that it is safer to remain in the UK or in Scotland is just nonsense because it’s not. If for example the University of Edinburgh is genuinely concerned by the risks of Covid-19, then they should allow students the option of perhaps signing a waiver negating the university’s risk if something does happen due to Covid-19. It’s a risk that I’m willing to take, I’m willing to get on a plane. I completely respect that many would not be willing to take that risk, however I don’t think a blanket cancellation is the answer.”
Max, entre autres étudiants, prévoit d’agir. Il déplore le manque de transparence de l’université.
“We’ve not had any communication as to how the decision was taken, why it was taken. Perhaps they have forgotten how important years abroad are for language students. My next steps before rallying other students to sign petitions and things would be to contact my host university to see whether they would still be willing to have me as a student in September. And if that’s a yes, well quite frankly the University of Edinburgh doesn’t really have a leg to stand on.”
Pas de nouvelle d'ajustements pour les examens. Mais déjà une demande que les étudiants paient le prix d'une année complète.
“Nothing to do with taking the loss of a year abroad into account. There is also another thing which needs to be taken into consideration, which is that employers expect a certain standard. By essentially making the final year exams easier, employers wouldn’t have students from the university with a similar skillset. Students will be expected to pay the full amount of a normal year at the University of Edinburgh. The way it works is that normally a Year Abroad costs half the price of a normal year. That is a big blow, if you’re asked to find thousands of pounds out of thin air, it leaves a lot of students in financial difficulty. There have been no provisions for that of all, and quite frankly that is a lack of care towards students.
Plusieurs universités au Royaume-Uni et en Europe devront prendre des décisions similaires sur l'envoi d'étudiants à l'étranger et l'accueil d'étudiants internationaux.