MORE than a million university students will face up to 10 days of strikes by lecturers in February, a union has announced.

Students at 68 institutions will see their lecturers walk out in disputes over “beyond disgraceful” pay, conditions and pensions, the University and College Union (UCU) said.

The union has called the strikes “a fight for the future of higher education”. It added that staff are at “breaking point” over years of falling pay and insecure working conditions.

It’s unsure how many classes or which lectures will be impacted. More than 50,000 staff are expected to take part, with in excess of a million students impacted.

In the first week of strikes, starting February 14, 44 universities will be involved over a dispute about cuts to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).

Meanwhile, 68 universities will be involved in the second week of strikes over pensions, pay and working conditions, with staff walking out on two days, however, Carlisle College and University of Cumbria have confirmed that they will be unaffected by strike action and classes are going ahead as planned.