§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what estimate she has made of the drop-out rate of undergraduates as a direct result of financial hardship. [180]
§ Mr. ForthOur latest estimate of the drop-out rate of students from full-time and sandwich first-degree courses is 17 per cent. in the academic year 1992–93. This covers all those leaving because of exam failure, ill health, personal and other reasons including financial difficulties. It is not possible to identify the drop-out rate caused by financial difficulties alone, but recent research in one university suggests that financial difficulties are less likely to be the cause than personal reasons or students' coming to the view that their course is unsuitable.