People who start a university course but do not complete it should be fined. Do you agree or disagree?

Of the number of undergraduates that begin a

course

of tertiary study, there

is

Suggestion

are

a percentage of those that do not finish the

course

, but the argument that they should

therefore

be financially penalised is riddled with potential problems. It needs to be considered

first

of all what motivated the

student

to leave their studies before they have graduated. If the decision was made due to financial constraints,

then

clearly adding an additional fine is simply adding to the pressure.

For example

, there are many older people who decide to go back to university but may already have a mortgage and dependent children, and may

consequently

find that their income is insufficient to cover their needs.

Moreover

, rather than attempting to make the

student

pay, it might be better to consider whether the

student

was actually given sufficient support during their studies. There are situations where the

student

may feel that they are not following the

course

and are

unable complete the

Suggestion

unable to complete the

required assignments, and

therefore

leave the

course

. Retention rates may be improved if there were personal tutors on hand to offer advice to those students who are losing confidence in their ability to remain on the

course

.

On the other hand

, there is an argument that the risk of a penalty would dissuade people from starting courses that they were not particularly motivated to complete in the

first

place. In conclusion,

therefore

,

although

the idea of being charged for non completion of a

course

would perhaps reduce the number of uncommitted enrolments, it is not an advisable solution for genuine students.