The number of student nurses dropping out halfway through their undergraduate course is costing taxpayers £98 million, it has been suggested.
Figures acquired by Nursing Standard magazine under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed that a quarter of student nurses do not complete their university course.
During 2006, out of the 25,101 students that started nursing at a higher education level, 6,603 did not finish the course.
At some universities only six per cent of student nurses dropped out, while at others the rate was as high as 56 per cent.
Gill Robertson, student adviser at the Royal College of Nursing, remarked: "The money wasted is deplorable and the effect on students and their families is enormous.
"It is time that much more work and investment was in place to reduce this. If it is possible in some universities, it is possible in them all."
It was announced earlier this week that nurses will receive an eight per cent pay rise by 2011.
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