Tertiary debt model

SIR — One of the major stumbling blocks faced by the #FeesMustFall brigade is the fact that most students starting a university degree course fail to finish. The cost of such failures is astronomical and unnecessary.

Access to tertiary education should not be limited by affordability. With the political manipulation of matric results, and the criminally low pass marks needed, combined with the relatively low university entrance criteria expected from students from poorer and previously disadvantaged groups, these failure statistics are not likely to reduce in the short term.

A model for tackling this would be to have all new students sign an acknowledgement of debt at the beginning of each academic year. This debt amount will cover all fees and textbooks, but would exclude accommodation, food and transport.

The debt will be either written off or heavily discounted if the students pass their degrees within the prescribed period. If a year of study requires repeating, a pro-rata portion of the debt will need to be repaid by the student.

An incomplete degree is worthless when looking for employment even though the student may have acquired valuable skills and knowledge. It is only when such “credits” are “banked” in support of a completed qualification that they become marketable.

A model like this will open the tertiary doors to deserving students with the ability, motivation and determination to succeed regardless of their circumstances, but will penalise the free-loaders who never achieve anything.