There are breathtaking stories of rorts in the higher education system in use in Australia. The government has licensed a number of "For Profit "" private colleges to offer courses and these are subjected to HECS style arrangements where the government pays and the student start paying back their course costs only when their earnings reach a level that makes that payment kick in as an obligatory requirement.
Now we are finding that a mere fraction of those enrolled at some colleges even commence their courses - and even fewer emerge with a degree. The weakness seems to be that the government shells out their obligation for the course when a student is enrolled, and this opens the door for rorting on the part of the sales force - who are usually working on a commission basis.
One tale would be hilarious - except that it reveals a blatant attempt to recruit people in the low social/economic category who would never have a hope of understanding the type of course offered. It seems that a recruiter sought students from the drinkers in the bar of a country pub and was offering a free laptop computer - and a fifty dollar note - for those who signed on the dotted line - and many did !
Of course these "students " hadn't a hope of working a computer, but they probably imbibed a lot more beer on the strength of that fifty dollar note, and the college gained an input of a lot of government money from that days recruiting drive. These "Phantom students "also have their HECS fees steadily mounting against their names, and should they ever reach a pay level commensurate with their repayment obligation, they will receive a very unpleasant visit from the tax man !
These rorts even extend to the prison system as "rehabilitation " becomes the catch-cry and every effort is being made to improve prisoners ability to reform their lives on release. A forty-three year old Muslim street preacher serving a sentence in the ACT prison for stabbing a victim, resulting in paraplegia has accrued a $ 70,000 HECS debt while seeking four degree qualifications and a PhD. He is also owing a $30,000 restitution debt arising from that stabbing - and all of these are unpaid, despite him earning a regular $ 35 a week as a prison janitor.
This prisoner is now sueing the ACT government because he claims that he needs a computer in his cell to enable him to seek legal references, and he claims to be unable to afford the $5 a week hiring fee. His main claim is that he has been discriminated against - because he is a Muslim.
The answer to the problem so glaringly obvious in the private college system would be the type of arrangement that is common in normal business practice. Payment is made progressively - as the service is delivered within it's time frame - and that is usually in arrears. If we arrange for a contractor to cut our lawns we do not usually pay a year in advance. We pay on the basis of each individual service, and it seems strange that the government pays up front for a whole years tuition - which may or not actually happen.
That is what is known as "risk management " ! The risk would transfer to the college which would only be paid on the basis of the attendance of students to weekly sessions, and there would be the expectation that continuation would come under scrutiny on the evaluation of test scores attained at regular reviews.
Some colleges would claim this is unworkable, but this whole education concept relies on matching students genuinely hoping to gain money earning qualifications with institutions capable of delivering that outcome. In this hard old world, only the efficient survive !
When is comes to prison tuition, the game changes. At least attendance is guaranteed, but time wasters could be expected to attain at least an acceptable level of course competence or be refused further tuition. The money applicable to education is finite - and the present regime is not delivering value for money spent |!
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