English: Thank you, Suzy, for those comments, and can I thank you for your acknowledgement of the hard work of university lecturers and staff the length and breadth of Wales, who have done everything that they can in the most challenging of situations to support their students? And I'm sure all of us in the Chamber would want to associate ourselves with the comments that people have been working incredibly hard to be able to do that. Can I say that I'm sorry that the Member doesn't feel that part-time student numbers are a success story for Wales? I'm sure the Member does, like I do, meet with the Open University on many occasions, and they say that the impact of the Diamond reforms has been absolutely transformational, and the number of students that they see now studying on a part-time basis with the Open University in Wales is a source of great pride to them and compares incredibly favourably to the experience of the Open University across the border in England. Indeed, I recently had the pleasure of sharing a platform with the vice-chancellor of the Open University, and he was absolutely fulsome in his praise for the approach that the Welsh Government has taken with regard to the parity of esteem that we place on part-time study and the transformational effect that it has. The point you made around part time, the average study time is six years, and so the HESA figures that you've referred to do include some of the issues before our reforms, and new students are the true measure of our success. And I think that needs to be taken into consideration when looking at the HESA studies. With regard to postgraduates, one of the strengths and, indeed, one of the principles that I referred to in my opening statement is that our support is fully portable. If a student has an ambition to study at a postgraduate level at an institution outside Wales, I do not want the lack of finance or, indeed, lack of support from the Welsh Government to be a constraint on that ambition. I believe it's absolutely important that Welsh-domiciled students are able to study at universities where they choose to do so. But what we have done, as I said in my opening statement, is provide additional support with regard to additional bursaries that are available to those students who choose to study at a postgraduate level in Wales, particularly in the field of STEMM, because we know that higher levels of skills in those areas are absolutely crucial to growing the Welsh economy. And there are bursaries again for those wishing to study at that highest level through the medium of Welsh. And so I think what we're able to deliver is a choice to Welsh students to be able to undertake their postgraduate study knowing that their Government will support them, but there will be additional support to those students should they choose to do so in an area that is particularly beneficial to the Welsh economy at a Welsh university, or to be able to support our opportunities to learn through the medium of Welsh and to develop those skills, and that capacity with our institution, because the ability to do that through the medium of Welsh doesn't benefit just the individual student taking that postgraduate course, but it actually helps build the capacity throughout the university to allow other students to benefit from that capacity. Undoubtedly, I understand that students will have concerns about the quality of the teaching that they have received this term as a result of COVID, especially where, this term, the majority of that has had to be delivered remotely. Universities have worked hard. They've recruited additional staff to make sure that that teaching experience is a good one, and we monitor very carefully with both our own funding council and the regulatory bodies any levels of complaints where people feel their tuition has not met their standards, and I have to say, to date, we're not seeing a huge amount of increase in complaints on where we were in a usual year. However, I would absolutely acknowledge that that rounded experience above and beyond simply studying has been affected - so, access to all the other things that a university has to offer an individual apart from just merely tuition has been impacted, and we recognise that, for many students, there has been particular hardship. That's why I'm very grateful to Welsh universities for recognising that in terms of rent rebates for those living in their own accommodation, and the Welsh Government has invested, in the most recent round of funding, some £40 million to assist with student hardship. Whilst I can't take COVID away, we are looking to support students to take some of the financial stresses and strains away from students by working in partnership with the sector and HEFCW to be able to increase moneys for hardship. But I thank the Member for her acknowledgement of the efforts that the sector has made to date. Thank you.
Welsh: Diolch, Suzy, am y sylwadau yna, ac a gaf i ddiolch ichi am eich cydnabyddiaeth o waith caled darlithwyr a staff prifysgolion ar hyd a lled Cymru, sydd wedi gwneud popeth o fewn eu gallu yn y sefyllfaoedd mwyaf heriol i gefnogi eu myfyrwyr? Ac rwy'n siŵr yr hoffai pob un ohonom ni yn y Siambr ategu'r sylwadau y bu pobl yn gweithio'n eithriadol o galed i allu gwneud hynny. A gaf i ddweud ei bod yn ddrwg gennyf nad yw'r Aelod yn teimlo bod niferoedd myfyrwyr rhan-amser yn llwyddiant i Gymru? Rwy'n siŵr bod yr Aelod, fel fi, yn cyfarfod â'r Brifysgol Agored droeon, ac maen nhw'n dweud bod effaith diwygiadau Diamond wedi bod yn gwbl drawsnewidiol, ac mae nifer y myfyrwyr y maen nhw'n eu gweld nawr yn astudio'n rhan-amser gyda'r Brifysgol Agored yng Nghymru yn destun balchder mawr iddyn nhw ac yn cymharu'n anhygoel o ffafriol â phrofiad y Brifysgol Agored dros y ffin yn Lloegr. Yn wir, cefais y pleser yn ddiweddar o rannu llwyfan gydag is-ganghellor y Brifysgol Agored, ac roedd yn llawn canmoliaeth ynghylch sut mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi mynd ati o ran y parch cydradd a roddwn ar astudio rhan-amser a'r effaith drawsnewidiol sydd ganddo. Y pwynt a wnaethoch chi ynghylch astudio yn rhan amser, yr amser astudio cyfartalog yw chwe blynedd, ac felly mae ffigurau HESA yr ydych wedi cyfeirio atynt yn cynnwys rhai materion cyn ein diwygiadau, a myfyrwyr newydd yw gwir fesur ein llwyddiant. A chredaf fod angen ystyried hynny wrth edrych ar astudiaethau HESA. O ran ôl-raddedigion, un o'r cryfderau ac, yn wir, un o'r egwyddorion y cyfeiriais ato yn fy natganiad agoriadol yw bod ein cefnogaeth ar gael ar gyfer unrhyw le. Os oes gan fyfyriwr uchelgais i astudio ar lefel ôl-raddedig mewn sefydliad y tu allan i Gymru, nid wyf eisiau i'r diffyg cyllid nac, yn wir, diffyg cefnogaeth gan Lywodraeth Cymru gyfyngu'r uchelgais hwnnw. Rwy'n credu ei bod yn gwbl bwysig bod myfyrwyr sy'n hanu o Gymru yn gallu astudio mewn prifysgolion lle maen nhw'n dewis gwneud hynny. Ond yr hyn yr ydym ni wedi'i wneud, fel y dywedais yn fy natganiad agoriadol, yw darparu cymorth ychwanegol o ran bwrsariaethau ychwanegol sydd ar gael i'r myfyrwyr hynny sy'n dewis astudio ar lefel ôl-raddedig yng Nghymru, yn enwedig ym maes STEMM, oherwydd gwyddom fod lefelau uwch o sgiliau yn y meysydd hynny'n gwbl hanfodol i dyfu economi Cymru. Ac mae bwrsariaethau eto i'r rhai sy'n dymuno astudio ar y lefel uchaf honno drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. Ac felly rwy'n credu mai'r hyn y gallwn ni ei gyflawni yw rhoi dewis i fyfyrwyr o Gymru i allu ymgymryd â'u hastudiaeth ôl-raddedig gan wybod y bydd eu Llywodraeth yn eu cefnogi, ond bydd cymorth ychwanegol i'r myfyrwyr hynny os byddant yn dewis gwneud hynny mewn ardal sydd o fudd arbennig i economi Cymru mewn prifysgol yng Nghymru, neu i allu cefnogi ein cyfleoedd i ddysgu drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg a datblygu'r sgiliau hynny, a'r capasiti hwnnw gyda'n sefydliad, oherwydd nid yw'r gallu i wneud hynny drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg o fudd i'r myfyriwr unigol sy'n dilyn y cwrs ôl-raddedig hwnnw yn unig, ond mewn gwirionedd mae'n helpu i feithrin y gallu ledled y brifysgol i ganiatáu i fyfyrwyr eraill elwa ar y capasiti hwnnw. Yn ddiau, deallaf y bydd gan fyfyrwyr bryderon am ansawdd yr addysgu y maen nhw wedi'i gael y tymor hwn o ganlyniad i COVID, yn enwedig lle mae'r rhan fwyaf o hwnnw wedi gorfod cael ei ddarparu o bell y tymor hwn. Mae prifysgolion wedi gweithio'n galed. Maen nhw wedi recriwtio staff ychwanegol i sicrhau bod y profiad addysgu hwnnw'n un da, ac rydym yn monitro'n ofalus iawn gyda'n cyngor cyllido ein hunain a'r cyrff rheoleiddio unrhyw lefelau o gwynion lle mae pobl yn teimlo nad yw eu hyfforddiant wedi bodloni eu safonau, ac mae'n rhaid i mi ddweud, hyd yma, nad ydym yn gweld cynnydd enfawr mewn cwynion o'u cymharu â rhai mewn blwyddyn arferol. Fodd bynnag, byddwn yn cydnabod yn llwyr yr effeithiwyd ar y profiad crwn hwnnw y tu hwnt i astudio yn unig - felly, effeithiwyd ar fynediad i'r holl bethau eraill sydd gan brifysgol i'w cynnig i unigolyn ar wahân i hyfforddiant yn unig, ac rydym yn cydnabod, i lawer o fyfyrwyr, y bu caledi penodol. Dyna pam yr wyf yn ddiolchgar iawn i brifysgolion Cymru am gydnabod hynny o ran ad-daliadau rhent i'r rhai sy'n byw yn eu llety eu hunain, ac mae Llywodraeth Cymru wedi buddsoddi tua £40 miliwn, yn y cylch ariannu diweddaraf, i gynorthwyo gyda chaledi myfyrwyr. Er na allaf gael gwared ar COVID, rydym yn awyddus i gefnogi myfyrwyr i dynnu rhywfaint o'r straen a'r pwysau ariannol oddi ar fyfyrwyr drwy weithio mewn partneriaeth â'r sector a CCAUC i allu cynyddu arian ar gyfer caledi. Ond diolch i'r Aelod am ei chydnabyddiaeth o'r ymdrechion y mae'r sector wedi'u gwneud hyd yma. Diolch.