Student with cancer wins payout after university refused to extend course for life-saving treatment

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A student who was denied an extension on her university course while undergoing life-saving treatment for cancer has been awarded a £12,000 payout.

Warwick University has agreed to pay the damages for the “distress and inconvenience” caused by denying Riham Sheble’s extension request.

Ms Shebale, a postgraduate film and television studies student who is from Egypt, was diagnosed with uterine sarcoma – a rare and aggressive form of cancer – in February 2021. She described the rejection of her request as “completely unnecessary” and “utterly unjust”.

Those who fought her case have hailed the payout as a victory for international students with disabilities in the UK.

The university 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. After a seven-month battle, the university agreed to pay damages.

Ms Sheble said: “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.”

Alongside her conflict with the university, Ms Sheble was also battling a Home Office decision to reject her mother’s application for a visitor visa. She hoped she could join her while she was struggling with her health condition.

After pressure from an open letter signed by over 200 University of Warwick staff and students, and support from Shabana Mahmood, MP Birmingham Ladywood, the Home Office granted her mother a visitor visa.

The pair have now been reunited, Unis Resist Border Controls said in a statement.

“There came a point when I didn’t think I was going to see my mother before dying. It was a frightening thought,” said Ms Sheble.

A spokesperson for Warwick University and College Union 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 University said its initial decision to refuse the study extension was reversed after an investigation and it later wrote to the Home Office asking for Ms Sheble’s mother to be allowed to visit her.

In a statement, it said: “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.”