Universities have come under fire for invoking data protection laws to justify withholding information from parents about their child’s suicide attempts. This issue was brought up in a debate on the need for a legal duty of care for higher education students in the UK Parliament. Lawmakers were presented with numerous examples of “appalling” conduct by universities. Some participated in behaviours like sending automated emails to inform them of their expulsion, giving zero points for exams without any explanation and neglecting to call emergency numbers during crises. The lawmakers were also made aware of the “completely unacceptable” experience of Mared Foulkes. Mared was in her second year of pharmaceutical studies at Cardiff University when she received an automated email saying she had failed her exams and wouldn’t be entering her third year. Shortly after that, Mared committed suicide. Other universities were accused of deleting student records before a coroner’s inquiry and announcing the death of a student before the family had a chance to inform their loved ones.
Conservative MP for Don Valley Nick Fletcher started the debate on Monday, underscoring the results of a survey conducted prior to the debate, indicating that more than half of the students believed their universities were not supportive enough. Fletcher asked, “Given students pay £9,000 every year to universities, the question is, is this acceptable?”
Fletcher also addressed universities’ reliance on data protection legislation like the GDPR. He insisted that safeguarding ought to be given priority over such laws. The debate was instigated by a petition launched by a group of parents who lost their children to suicide while attending higher education institutions. The petition started in October 2022 and collected over 128,000 signatures.
The bereaved parents, which include the parents of Natasha Abrahart, who took her life while pursuing a physics degree at the University of Bristol, believe that universities should have a statutory duty of care to teach pupils effectively and provide them with support services. Although the suicide rate among students is lower than the overall population, between 2017 and 2020 202 male students and 117 female students lost their lives in this way. MPs commended certain universities’ efforts to make improvements, but they also acknowledged the sector’s variable quality in terms of mental health assistance for students.
In response to the petition, the government said that higher education institutions already have a general duty of care not to harm students through their actions and that further legislation would be “disproportionate”. Prof. Steve West, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West of England Bristol and president of Universities UK, which represents 140 providers, called the proposed statutory duty of care inappropriate and not the best way to support students.