The case for student fundholding

EDITOR,--Teaching in medical schools is of variable quality, and I have often pondered how good teaching might be promoted by those who are taught. The answer, in fact, is learnt early by most students: “selective attendance,” which is also sometimes disparagingly termed “skiving.”

This laudable activity is usually misinterpreted by the medical school authorities, who seek to combat it. Undergraduates are adult learners capable of determining whether an hour is better spent with a textbook or being taught badly. If the authorities fear that the …