Students' worries as lectures are cancelled amid university strikes

INDUSTRIAL ACTION SET TO CONTINUE UNTIL OCTOBER 24

- By JOEL MOORE

FRUSTRATED university students whose lectures have been cancelled due to strikes say they are worried that the dispute could drag on for weeks.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) have launched “large-scale” industrial action against the University of Nottingham in response to staff restructuring that is cutting hundreds of roles.

Teaching, academic and support staff began striking on September 22, coinciding with the first teaching week of the new academic year. The action is scheduled to last until October 24.

The strikes have led to the widespread cancellation of lectures for both new and returning university students.

This includes Michelle Boateng, a second-year sociology student, who received an email to tell her that a lecture on Tuesday afternoon would not take place because of the strike.

“This was meant to be my second lecture,’ said the 19-year-old.

Asked whether she was bothered, she said: “Just a little bit. The lecture hasn't been recorded so I won't have the lecturer speaking to me.