Leading Article: Drop-out waste

The Public Accounts Committee's report on student drop-outs makes sobering reading. It is depressing that expenditure of £800m over five years on trying to prevent undergraduates from giving up on university has not had the desired effect and that as many as 22 per cent of students are still dropping out after two years' studying.

This is wasteful financially for both students and the taxpayer. We may have to accept that the drop-out rate will be higher with more people going to university who are not as well prepared as in the past. But we will also have to look at other ways to support vulnerable students.