To ask the Minister for the Economy for his assessment of the impact COVID-19 has had on attendance rates at further and higher education colleges.

Whilst Covid-19 and the emergence of the Omicron variant has unavoidably affected Further Education (FE) colleges and Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), the impact on attendance rates has been mitigated as far as possible.

Student attendance in FE is continuously monitored and reviewed, and while attendance has undoubtedly been negatively impacted by Covid-19, it is currently within an acceptable tolerance. All colleges have put in place measures to mitigate the transmission of Covid-19, enabling teaching and learning to continue. These include, but are not limited to:

a strong staff resource position with vocationally qualified full and part-time staff who have the flexibility and knowledge to ‘step in’ and ensure curriculum continuity

the development of Covid-19 incidence and reporting mechanisms to ensure students are fully supported if testing results are positive, which also takes into consideration the student’s ability to work remotely; and

retention policies and/or retention strategies are in place to further support students that are struggling to attend.

Whilst most HEIs do not monitor attendance, except for reason of progression or course requirements, the majority of HEIs have reported that they have experienced a drop in attendance due to Covid-19, but it is of a level to pose no significant impact.

Along with FE colleges, HEIs have concentrated on achieving a flexibility to support all learners to attend classes either remotely or face-to-face during the pandemic. Each HEI is an independent institution and the processes they employ to minimise the impact of Covid-19 on attendance is unique to them, but these include supporting students who are suffering ill health due to Covid-19 by modifying the provision, use of the Virtual Learning Environment and follow up meetings when a student has been identified as having low attendance.