Lecturers in UK refuse to mark exams in labour dispute, leaving thousands unable to graduate

LONDON (AP) — Hafsa Yusuf was supposed to graduate last week.

The 21-year-old English literature major had spent 200 pounds on graduation gown rental, photography and tickets for her family to attend the ceremony.

But just two weeks before the big day, Queen Mary University of London sent her an email saying she couldn't graduate because of industrial action taken by academic staff across the United Kingdom.

Lecturers at some 140 universities have refused to mark exam papers and coursework, in an escalation of a simmering dispute over pay and working conditions.

“Because of the marking boycott, they didn't have enough grades to confirm that I was able to graduate,” Yusuf said.

“We all paid as normal, just to get an email two weeks beforehand saying you can't come.”

Yusuf and the class of 2023 had already endured severe disruptions to their college experience.

They entered university in 2020, at the height of COVID-19 lockdowns.

Then came university staff strikes, part of a huge and ongoing wave of industrial action by hundreds of thousands of UK workers to demand better pay amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Now thousands of students from Cambridge to Edinburgh are unable to graduate or face indefinite delays in receiving their final marks because of the latest labour dispute, which began in April and shows no sign of resolution.

It's not clear exactly how many students are affected, but the University and College Union, which represents academics and lecturers, estimated that “easily tens of thousands” will not graduate this summer as disruptions look likely to drag on into the next academic year.

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