The High Court has dismissed a claim brought by a former
undergraduate student of Oxford University for £1 million for
losses allegedly caused by inadequate teaching. Siddiqui v
University of Oxford [2018] EWHC 184 is not the first such
case brought in the English courts, but it is the first to be
determined at trial. Given the national debate over increasing
tuition fees and student loans, the case will be of particular
interest to educational professionals faced with students that
demand greater value than any previous generation.
Background
The claimant, Mr Siddiqui, was an undergraduate student of
Modern History at Oxford University between 1997 and 2000. He
received an upper second class degree which was awarded on the
basis of seven examinations taken in the final year. Siddiqui
complained about the teaching of one of those subjects,
"India, 1916 - 1934: Indigenous Politics and Imperial
Control" (ISS), taught in 2000 and in previous years by
Professor
