So we have loads of kids effectively locked down in their student digs with covid or isolating.

This one is far from straightforward but, having listened to the woe's of a 17 year old kid at Glasgow Uni, confined to her student digs having tested positive, it sounded extremely tough.
Should the students have been told not to go back and "attend" on line lectures or should they have carried on as though there is nothing going on.

Thankfully my kids are now beyond Uni but, parents must be going through the wringer on this one, especially at, in Scotland, they aren't allowed to go and collect their kids, they have to leave them there to "get through".

Come on - these are kids their parents never expected to see until Xmas - if they thought they would see them before they are sad individuals indeed. Having put three kids through Uni I wanted them to embrace the life and forget about life at home - time to gain some independence of thought and life.

If you haven't taught your kid the life skills to live on their own more fool you

So it was wholly the right decision to move 2 million kids to their chosen Uni's to study on line (no live lectures at the moment).
Interestingly, any kid wishing to return home from a Scottish Uni would apparently be breaking the law but, strangely, if they live in England (or elsewhere) they can legally return but, are being asked not to.
Said students being told to get covid tests but, having to use public transport to travel X miles for a test, spreading the virus further still.
I think that you may have missed the point

The title of your thread was “fiasco”

How is it a fiasco? Don’t get me wrong, I know that just like every other thread of yours, it’s a dig at the government, I just want to see how you spin this one

Let's see how it plays out but, there could have been a delay to the physical return to Uni, perhaps starting the year with on line lectures and then either delaying the return or staggering the return.
Let's face it, the usual "freshers" stuff has had to be massively scaled down.

Wrong again.

Young adults are THE group most responsible for spreading the virus, although thankfully the vast majority of them seem to get only a mild version of the virus.
Of course there is a lot more to life at Uni than the actual studies and the students get far more from the non academic side of things than the actual degree.

Again, the point about students travelling on public transport to get a test is that they dont generally have a choice, their family members are usually too far away to help with this, although this isn't always the case.
Having said that, its crazy to be on public transport if you have Covid, regardless of whether you are a student, pensioner or whoever and I would suggest that this situation needs addressing, quickly.
If any person risks infecting the other people on P.T. they would be better off not having to use it ??

I seem to remember that certain individuals on here were critical of the teaching unions when they warned people that what has just happened would happen.

Indeed.
Some seem to have no grasp of just how a virus spreads.
Just because children and young adults aren't keeling over as a result of coming into contact doesn't mean that the rest of the population wont catch the thing themselves.
The whole situation is turning to farce.
How can people no longer be able to see their own family members but can now drop their kids with other families for formal and informal childcare.
There was an interesting interview on Look North with the Leader of Leeds council, who struggled to answer half of the questions put to her, that were sent in by members of the public.

Not a fiasco but close to fraud. Deliberately encouraging them back when it was obvious there would be a spike and online teaching. Just to help fund the universities and their research and to give the landlords cash.

It's a travesty, it really is.
Some of the poor lambs are even getting 'junk' food delivered to them during quarantine.

Well, it depends on what sort of accommodation they have paid for.
Back in the day, all students had to fend for themselves, cooking, eating, shopping etc

However, these days there is a "catered for" option, for those students who cant or dont want to do these things.

Now, if you've paid for a decent meal or two everyday and someone drops off crisps and kit kats at your door, you are most definitely being short changed.
Having said that, a balanced diet for most students is beer, pizza, beer and kebabs or, when looking after themselves, copious amounts of pasta..

It would be a bit like buying a season ticket to watch FC and then being forced to watch KR instead.
Some may be ok with that but, others wouldn't be very happy

“I see no problem. The larvae flourish when confined to their hexagonal pods.” - Dominic Cummings

No longer exists because of Corona or, knocked on the head before then.
I realise that canteens etc cant open as they did. However, is the "catered for" option no longer "sold" by the Uni's