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STUDENTS who drop out of university go on to earn on average 15 per cent less than graduates, but can make up lost ground through higher education elsewhere or professional qualifications, according to a pilot study of those who fail to stay the course.

Lancaster University lecturers researching the experience of people who entered the institution in 1979 and 1980 found prospects for drop-outs might not be as bleak as first seemed.

Jill Johnesand Jim Taylor compared what had happened to about 100 graduates and 60 'non-completers', about a fifth of whom subsequently completed a degree or diploma after leaving Lancaster.

A comparison of starting salaries in their first job showed a 20 per cent gap between the groups which rose to 26 per cent for their most recent salaries, according to their research reported in Studies in Higher Education.

But other factors, including whether a person also had professional qualifications, the degree subject, the length of time a person had been in a job and which part of the country he or she worked, reduced the differences salary gap significantly.

The researchers also found that graduates were unemployed for an average of 4.4 weeks in 1986-88, while non-completers were out of work for more than 17 weeks.

Dr Sheila Lawlor, of the Centre for Policy Studies, wants the Government to drop proposed history attainment targets relating to interpretation and the use of sources. Pupils should only be required to prove their historical knowledge and should not be tested on 'opinion rather than fact.'