No return to ‘pre-Covid comfort zone’, minister tells universities

Michelle Donelan wants post-pandemic era to usher in big changes for higher education

Universities must not “slip back” into their pre-Covid “comfort zone” as the sector emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, England’s further and higher education minister has warned.

Speaking after the Department for Education unveiled a range of reforms that aim to shake up higher education’s approach to access and participation, Michelle Donelan said she wanted the post-pandemic era to be as “revolutionary” for higher education as the post-war period was for healthcare.