{"id":25604,"date":"2020-07-15T14:32:50","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T14:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/?p=25604"},"modified":"2020-09-07T10:44:43","modified_gmt":"2020-09-07T10:44:43","slug":"students-face-choices-between-heating-and-eating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/cjsnews\/students-face-choices-between-heating-and-eating\/","title":{"rendered":"Students face choices between “heating and eating”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some university students face impossible choices due to COVID-19 hardship according to the National Union of Students (NUS) Wales.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It comes as the Welsh Government faces calls to provide funds for students<\/a> who are unemployed due to the pandemic – the only UK government yet to have done so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to an NUS Survey<\/a>, almost half of students who work have seen their income reduced because of coronavirus, with 78% of all students concerned about their ability to manage financially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“On paper I’m getting 80%, but in reality I’m making about 40%”<\/p>
RUTENDO DAFANA, STUDENT AT CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Rutendo Dafana has only been able to pay three-quarters of their rent since being furloughed from their bar job in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a zero-hour contract worker my hours are very varied throughout the year. Right now was meant to be the busy season so in reality I\u2019m making about 40% of what I would during normal summer,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of the focus has been on universal credit and as students you don\u2019t have access to that. I\u2019ve just been watching everyone else being sorted but [they\u2019re] leaving out a key demographic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I’m worried about the financial strain on my parents”<\/p>
JASNEET SAMRAI, PROSPECTIVE STUDENT<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jasneet Samrai who starts at Aberystwyth University this September also feels left out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had the furlough scheme and self-employed scheme which obviously benefit adults, but we don\u2019t really see much for students, especially considering students are the most likely to be laid off in this crisis,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As her student finance will only just cover rent, she expected to find a job when she moves to Aberystwyth. But with student-heavy sectors such as retail and hospitality amongst the hardest hit by coronavirus, it looks less likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m quite worried in terms of how it will all pan out. I\u2019m going in not knowing what financial situation I\u2019ll be in which is just anxiety for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I am now in my overdraft which is the only thing keeping me going at the moment”<\/p>
WILL KINGSHOTT, STUDENT AT UNIVERSITY OF WALES TRINITY SAINT DAVID<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Before lockdown Will had three zero-hour jobs that he wasn\u2019t furloughed for – receptionist, student ambassador, and a teacher at a kids club. Some weeks he would only earn \u00a320 but even that “would have been amazing in these circumstances” he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can\u2019t return to my father\u2019s house as he and my grandparents are all high risk. I\u2019ve been in halls for months now by myself, paying for rent and food without any other income which is starting to worry me a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n