Requiring students to serve their communities before graduation is an appealing idea: it promises to build civic responsibility, expose young people to lives different from their own and provide useful help to those in need. I agree that schools and universities should strongly encourage community service and build it into their programmes. However, I am less convinced that it should be strictly compulsory for every student, because compulsion can undermine the very values it seeks to promote.

The potential benefits are considerable. Students who tutor younger children, assist in clinics or help after floods often gain practical skills, such as communication and teamwork, that classroom learning rarely develops. Service can also break down social barriers. A university student from a comfortable urban family who spends several weeks working with farmers or garment workers is likely to understand national problems in a far more concrete way than one who has only read about them.

Communities, too, may benefit. In countries with limited public resources, student volunteers can extend literacy programmes, health campaigns and disaster relief. Bangladesh's long tradition of student involvement in flood relief shows how quickly young people can mobilise when there is genuine need.

Yet mandatory programmes carry real risks. When service becomes simply another requirement to tick off, students may choose the easiest placements, complete the minimum hours and learn little. Research on motivation suggests that people who are forced to perform an activity often value it less than those who choose it freely. Compulsory schemes can also burden students who already work long hours to support their families, turning a civic ideal into an obstacle to graduation for the poorest.

There are also concerns about quality. Placements must be supervised and meaningful; otherwise, unskilled students may do more harm than good, particularly in sensitive settings such as healthcare or work with vulnerable children. Organising thousands of worthwhile placements requires resources that many institutions lack.

It is also worth asking who benefits from compulsion. Some schemes risk becoming a source of free labour for organisations that should employ paid staff, or a public-relations exercise for institutions eager to appear socially responsible. Service that genuinely helps communities must be designed with those communities, not merely for the convenience of the school.

A better approach would be to make community service a valued and accessible option rather than an absolute requirement. Institutions could award academic credit for well-designed service projects, integrate service into existing courses and offer flexible options for students with heavy work or family responsibilities. In this way, the benefits of service can be widely shared without turning generosity into compulsion.

I agree that community service is valuable for students, but I am not sure it should be compulsory for everyone.

Community service can teach students many useful things, such as teamwork, responsibility and communication. It also helps them understand the problems of poor people in their society. In addition, communities can receive help with teaching, cleaning or health programmes.

However, if service is compulsory, some students may do it only to finish the requirement and may not learn anything. Some students also have part-time jobs or family duties, so extra hours of service could be very difficult for them.

Instead, universities should encourage community service by giving credits or certificates, and they should offer flexible programmes for busy students.

In conclusion, community service is a good idea, but it is better to encourage students than to force them. This would make service a positive experience rather than a burden, and more students would probably join because they want to help.

I agree all students should do community service.

It is good for society because students can help poor people and clean the city. Students also learn to be good citizens.

Some students are lazy so it must be compulsory, otherwise they will not do it.

So community service should be required before graduation. It also looks good on CV for job.