Warwick University has agreed to pay a student who is seriously ill with cancer £12,000 in damages for the “distress and inconvenience” caused by not allowing her to extend her course as a result of her health condition.
Riham Sheble, an international postgraduate film and television studies student at Warwick was diagnosed with uterine sarcoma – a rare and aggressive form of cancer – in February 2021.
Her payout has been hailed as a significant victory for overseas students with disabilities in the UK by Unis Resist Border Controls (URBC)) and Warwick University and College Union who fought for her to be allowed to extend her study period.
The university has acknowledged that its handling of her extension of studies request submitted in April 2022 did not adequately provide reasonable adjustments for her cancer as a form of disability and after a-seven month battle has agreed to pay her the sum.
Sheble, who is Egyptian, welcomed the settlement of her case. “University of Warwick’s initial decision denying me an extension of study period was completely unnecessary,” she said. “These battles were imposed on me at a time when I was contending with death and at war with my own body. I was forced to fight on so many fronts. It was exhausting. More importantly it was utterly unjust.”
She was also contending with an initial decision by the Home Office to reject her mother’s application for a visa to visit her. But that decision was reversed after a campaign by more than 200 University of Warwick staff and students with support from Birmingham Ladywood MP, Shabana Mahmood.
“There came a point when I didn’t think I was going to see my mother before dying. It was a frightening thought,” said Sheble.
A spokesperson for Warwick UCU said: “We are delighted with this outcome and will continue pushing the university to honour their commitments. No university should deprive any student with a disability or a chronic health condition of their education.”
Warwick said: “A formal investigation was carried out into a complaint made by a student relating to how the university had processed a request for an extension to her period of registration.
“That investigation found that we could have shown greater flexibility in this case. We accepted this conclusion and recognised we had got this wrong – and then worked to put it right.
“A decision to reject a further extension to her period of registration was reversed. And we wrote to the Home Office on the student’s behalf asking for her mother to be allowed to come into the UK to support her, which was successful.
“We also felt it was the right thing to do to make a payment to the student rather than contest it through a potentially lengthy complaints process, given the unique circumstances involved in this case.
“We’re sorry for the way the student was made to feel through this process, which came during a very difficult and challenging time for her. We have sent a letter to her to offer our sincere apologies.”