STUDENTS AT NUI Galway have been warned they could face expulsion if they fail to adhere to Covid-19 public health guidelines.

The students were urged to “socialise safely and call out reckless behaviour” when they return to campus.

In a letter emailed to students yesterday, the university said it would “not hesitate” to deal with students who did not follow the government’s advice to limit social interactions.

“Given the seriousness of this pandemic, we won’t hesitate in dealing with any breaches of public health guidelines in line with our student code of conduct (which has penalties up to and including expulsion)”, the letter from the dean of students said.

“In other countries, we’ve seen universities close as parties broke guidelines and spewed Covid.

“I know most of our community want to socialise safely but given the health dangers of actions that go against the public health advice, we will be invoking the code of conduct for any breaches.”

Thousands of students are returning to Galway city this week ahead of the start of the new academic year next Monday.

The letter called on students to work together to minimise the risk of spreading Covid-19.

They were urged to wear face coverings, use one-way systems and to avail themselves of a laptop loan scheme if they need to access remote lectures.

The students could face sanctions ranging from a formal reprimand up to permanent expulsion from the premises if they ignore the advice.