If a student could manage to take the course as follows: normal school => higher normal school => university of literature and science, the student could complete a course which was equivalent to a regular route: middle school => high school => imperial university, with no school expenses, thus normal schools attracted many students who were excellent but suffering financial burdens.
師範学校→高等師範学校→文理科大学というコースをとれば、学費無料で中等学校→高等学校→帝国大学という正規のルートに匹敵する教育が受けられたため、経済的な理由で進学を断念せざるをえない優秀な人材を多く吸収した。