Uni student failure rate is a worry, but the government response is too heavy-handed

In a surprise move, the government has revealed several new policies to reduce rates of failure in university subjects. If the legislation passes, it will require universities to:

- monitor student academic performance more closely
- prevent students enrolling in too many subjects
- exclude students who fail more than half their subjects, except in special circumstances.

The problem with the new laws, which include withdrawal of funding for students who fail too many subjects, is they will push universities towards faster, and possibly premature, termination of student enrolments.