Next put a student on edge (7)
I believe the answer is:
lateral
'edge' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'next put a student' is the wordplay.
'next' becomes 'later' (I've seen this in other clues).
'put' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'student' becomes 'l' (as in L-plates for learner drivers).
'later'+'a'+'l'='LATERAL'
'on' is the link.
(Other definitions for lateral that I've seen before include "belonging to the side" , "Tall ear (anag.)" , "Shoot" , "Way of thinking" , "One type of thinking" .)