Writing task 2 - IELTS "Write about the following topic: There has been a dramatic growth in the number of people studying at universities in the last few decades. While some people see this as a positive trend which raises the general level of education within the community, others fear that it is lowering the quality of education. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the increase in student numbers at university? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words." --------------------------------------------- Over the last decades the number of students at universities has been risen significantly. This increase has some positive aspects such as more people are having access to the university and thus it raises the general level of education, on the other hand the quality of education can be lowering. There is no doubt that the growth of the number of students at university is an important step to building a democratic society, because it meas that more people with different backgrounds are having access to higher education, inclusive the ones from lower social classes, which is a novelty once the universities historically were frequented by the elite only. In addition, such increasing raises the general level of education, and thus it makes possible for people develop a critic thinking and have good discussions about any topic. Because at the university the students might be in contact with people from different cultures, religions and believes, sexualities and social classes, which is quite significant to the process of developing an open mind. Nevertheless, the rise of the amount of students at universities has also some negative consequences, such as the drop in quality of education. There are universities that are not prepared to support the large number of students,which may overload the professors who in tern can not give the needed attention the students. Furthermore, in the near future there may be a lack of technical professionals, while the market will be saturated with people who have an undergraduate degree, therefore, these people will have to get lower qualified jobs. In conclusion, the dramatic increase in students numbers in tertiary education is a positive and important step to building a democratic society, however the universities must be prepared to support all the members of the academic community, offering them good structure.