You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Rising university fees and scarce employment prospects for graduates have led some people to say that universities should not teach arts subjects, like philosophy and history, and only offer practical degree courses that maximise chances of employment. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

It is argued that universities should offer only career-oriented courses rather than teaching arts subjects like philosophy, which is thought to be expensive and less-productive. I think practical courses can be given more focus, but arts subjects should remain as an option for those who demand.

The fundamental reason behind my disapproval to the complete termination of teaching arts at colleges is because this creates an imbalance in the range of courses the universities offer. To be precise, a university should have a wide range of subjects and languages to teach, as it has to focus in producing graduates from different streams. One has to understand the fact that the society needs the service of people like musicians, actors et cetera, and this is possible only if a variety of arts subjects are taught along with job-oriented courses.

Another reason why I tend to oppose the suggestion is because it closes the doors for those who are really interested in such subjects. To be clearer, even though there is less demand for these subjects at present, it can be seen that a considerable proportion of people choose these because of their personal interests. Therefore, these should remain as options in the courses a university offer.

I have to admit that today’s world requires more graduates from practical fields such as doctors, nurses and engineers. The universities of a country should produce enough of such qualified professionals each year, lest they would opt for other countries for studies and work. This would result in lack of qualified professionals in a country, and would affect its development adversely.

To conclude, though universities should meet the demands of the existing job sector by producing more graduates from practical areas, I feel the opportunity to study arts should not be withdrawn.

Word count: 297