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Instead of transferring funding for educating nurses to the Higher Education Funding Council for England ("Fight for NHS cash hots up as 'chaos' threatens nurse training jobs", May 19), why doesn't the Council of Deans of Nursing go a step further and advocate transferring most of the funds to the Further Education Funding Council? Only 6 per cent of nursing students leave English universities with a degree - the rest leave with diplomas. Most of those who teach nurses are not research-active, therefore, nursing students are not taught by staff at the leading edge of their subjects. Such a move would leave universities free to teach graduates and conduct research.

Roger Watson
Sheffield University