Staff wave tearful goodbye to university campus

Staff at a university campus have spoken of their sadness on their final working day as the site prepares to close for good.

The University of Essex is shutting its Southend-on-Sea campus due to financial pressures, with 400 jobs being cut across the institution.

Members of staff - many of whom have worked their final day - gathered outside the campus's main building on Friday for a symbolic round of applause.

"Working here for the last six years and teaching the student nurses… standing here on the last day is really emotional," said lecturer Shabnam Sagar.

The university's vice-chancellor says 92% of students have agreed to move to the university's Colchester campus, with just 1% saying they are not going to transfer.

Meanwhile, UNISON says the majority of its members at the Colchester campus have voted for strike action over the cuts, and dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Ijeoma Okolo returned to lecture at the university's School of Health and Social Care department, having been a postgraduate student.

"I felt…I was paying back, because I had the most amazing tutelage from the mentors here," she told the BBC.

"I've been in denial mode for quite a while because obviously I've been here since 2018, so it's really sad moving on."

Okolo, who will move into teaching at another university, said it was "damning" for the city of Southend not to have its own campus.

Sagar, a lecturer in mental health nursing, joined the university during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Looking at her staff lanyard, she said she was "very proud to wear it all the way from my car to here".

"Many universities are in the same position which is very sad to see," she said.

"But at the same time, we should be proud of what we have achieved."

About 50 postgraduate students will remain at the Southend campus through until September, but undergraduate teaching for the East 15 Acting School and business school have concluded, with support staff leaving at different times until the end of October.

In a joint statement from the leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council Daniel Cowan - along with Southend Labour MPs Bayo Alaba and David Burton-Sampson - the trio said they were "deeply disappointed" the closure was going ahead.

"We believed there was another path, and we remain convinced that the university could and should have done more to protect the future of this campus," they said.

The university's vice-chancellor, Prof Frances Bowen, said she was "extremely grateful for the commitment and professionalism of colleagues in Southend who have continued to provide an outstanding service during this transitional period".

She said the Colchester campus was "looking forward" to welcoming hundreds of transferring students in the autumn.

World-class facilities were being created for the East 15 Acting School and health and social care students, she added.

"We will continue to work within Southend, including our outreach into schools and supporting businesses through innovation and research," she continued.

On Friday, UNISON said 84% of its members at the Colchester campus had voted in favour of strike action over the cuts to jobs and services, saying they "will undermine the quality of classes and leave students without proper support for their studies".

UNISON regional organiser Wayne Instone said dates for strike action would be announced in the coming weeks.

However, Bowen said the university was "taking decisive steps towards a sustainable future by concentrating research and education on two campuses (Colchester and Loughton) while reducing staff numbers to more closely match a lower student population".

The measures would enable the university "to better respond to the significant financial challenges facing the whole UK higher education sector", she explained.

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