Urgent calls to end compulsory unpaid internships as students forced to quit due to cost of living

Nursing and early childhood education are among a number of courses which require unpaid job placements during studies. Photograph: Carly Earl/The Guardian

Academics are calling for students to be compensated for compulsory internships to stem high dropout rates amid a cost-of-living crisis.

Ruby Partland, a masters student in social work at RMIT, is required to complete 1,000 hours of unpaid internships to complete her degree – equating to around six months of full-time work.