Thursdays, the cost of living, and English weather were among the factors blamed for low attendance at the Union body tasked with setting education policy.
The Education Officer Shaban Chaudhary last week faced scrutiny over struggling attendance rates at the Education Zone, which previously stalled the Union’s policymaking process when it failed to meet the minimum required attendance in January.
The Officer rejected claims that his sustained media silence – having been absent from Union social media for almost a year – had contributed to low attendance at the Zone of which he is chair, blaming instead a range of factors including members’ academic and job commitments, mental health, and Thursdays.
He said: “The last Education Zone was on Thursday and this Education Zone is also on Thursday. Because of timetabling issues, Thursday is one of the busiest days where a lot of timetabling is now shifting beyond working hours.”
He said two reps who were absent had texted him to say they were still in lectures, adding: “That’s another reason for reps’ [low] engagement… because of timetabling, the working [and] teaching times are extended beyond 5 or 6pm.”
Responding to a similar query last month when the Education Zone failed to meet quorum and stalling the progression of two policies, the Officer blamed the cost of living and “gloomy weather”. He added: “I won’t allow The Cheese Grater or anyone to raise any questions [about] rep engagement because they’ve been phenomenal in that space.”
On both occasions, Chaudhary refused to say whether he accepted personal responsibility for low attendance in his Zone or for stalling the functioning of Union democracy.
Shock Sydney tour crowns top globetrotter
Chaudhary recently returned from an unannounced two-week tour of Sydney alongside a UCL delegation but failed to inform other sabbatical officers until everything was decided, The Cheese Grater understands. He said only nine days were paid for by the Union and that he was on annual leave for the remainder of the trip.
Asked whether the tour – which added another 7.65 tonnes of CO2 and almost doubled the sabbatical leadership’s carbon footprint from international travels – was necessary and a good use of Union resources, the Officer said: “We’ve done everything we could do in our national space by visiting all of the students’ unions… The plan right now is to go global and see and understand what institutions are doing around the world.”
He said UCL Provost Michael Spence, who was Vice-Chancellor at the University of Sydney until 2020, had mentioned Sydney’s Welcome Fair “a bazillion times”. He said he can now attest to how “mind-bogglingly different” it is from UCL’s.
But sources close to the Union say the Officer actively withheld information about the trip so that he would be the primary if not only point of contact with the University. It is understood this is not the first time Chaudhary has done this in his two-year stint as Education Officer.
Meanwhile, the Education Officer’s excursion to Down Under has crowned him as the Union’s top globetrotter, having travelled a total of 17,000 miles this year and emitting 10 tonnes of CO2 in the process, equivalent to burning over 23 barrels of crude oil.
The Education Officer shared his key takeaways from Sydney to the Zone but did not say whether he would be doing the same for students via the Union’s social media, where he was absent for almost a whole year.
Where’s Shaban?
Despite a Union comms strategy to maximise the exposure of its elected officers through social media, Chaudhary failed to appear on the Union’s Instagram page for 330 consecutive days.
Elsewhere, the Education Officer had refused requests by The Cheese Grater to record Union proceedings, claiming he is “not comfortable” being recorded, even on audio.
Chaudhary and Postgraduate Officer Darcy Lan supposedly pen newsletters to academic reps, but the Union was last month forced to reveal that the sabbatical officers do not actually write the emails themselves after the use of the phrase “Lunar New Year” in a newsletter angered Chinese nationalists.
Asked whether there was a reason behind Chaudhary’s prolonged media silence, a Union staffer said they had not noticed and blamed “scheduling issues”. The following day, the Education Officer appeared in the background of an Instagram post alongside Lan, but did not speak or feature prominently.
Before this appearance, the Education Officer was last seen in a post on 15 March 2024 when he was re-elected for a second term. This means Chaudhary has made all but one appearance on Union social media over the past twelve months.
The Education Officer is paid £33,000 a year, whose salary gets adjusted by inflation annually. Alongside five other sabbatical officers, they are elected to public office every March to improve student life at UCL.
A Union spokesperson said: “Sabbatical Officers and Students’ Union staff are often required to attend conferences, visit other universities and students’ unions, and carry out work off-campus.
“Sometimes, this will involve overseas travel, which is arranged in accordance with the UCL Travel Policy for Staff and Students based in the UK.
“As part of our ambition to be London’s global Students’ Union engaging with international organisations, including through occasional visits and exchanges, is a key part of our mission.
“These trips are carefully planned in advance and executed to ensure they provide the greatest possible benefit for our members.”
The Education Officer did not respond to a request for comment.
