The Gonski report was supposed to overhaul the nation's education system and create a better educated work force earning higher salaries and improving living standards. One of the objectives was to increase the ratio of skilled students with tertiary qualifications to make this the " Clever Country ".
It comes as something of a shock to learn that one out of every five students who enrol in the nation's universities drops out before finishing their course. This is a huge waste of resources and indicates that we need to look deeper into the selection criteria for course acceptance.
The gateway at present is the HSC - the " Higher School Certificate ". The level of HSC attainment required is the entry point for individual courses and only the highly talented will qualify to study medicine and law, the most sought after disciplines. There has been a tendency in recent times for the entry requirement for less popular courses to be set lower to attract course numbers.
Many decades ago a university education was restricted to the privileged. A family needed wealth to pay a son or daughter's university tuition and a gifted child from a poor family needed to win a scholarship to gain university selection. The introduction of HECS made universities open to all with the advent of student loans that could be repaid when the recipient reached a salary level commensurate with the qualification gained.
Unfortunately, this also contained what some saw as an " escape clause ". Those that failed to qualify or who took lesser work than their qualification and thus did not reach the required salary level for required repayment of their loan - walked away free of debt.
Today, a university education is seen as a " right " rather than a " privilege ". Many career paths such as teaching and nursing require a minimum university qualification for entry and this is expected to widen in coming years. Unfortunately, the fact that it is now easier to gain a place at a university has devalued it's worth in the eyes of many people.
One of the problems is that young people leaving school may make unwise career choice decisions and as a result feel that they must start a university course. Once into that course, they realise the mistake - and drop out. It seems obvious that we need better pre-career evaluation and training in the final years of high school to get those decisions right if we are not to waste public money on failed university courses.
The other university incentive is the tight job market. High youth unemployment increases family pressure to go for higher education and in some cases the young person is more suited to a trade career, but that requires an apprenticeship - which is also not available. University then becomes a choice, despite it being a " square peg in a round hole " answer to that persons needs. A wrong decision simply wastes precious education resources and delivers no gain to the student.
The drop our rate is a clear indication that university selection criteria needs work. Skill is needed to guide each university applicant through the thinking process that applies to the years ahead and there needs to be an acceptable alternative such as TAFE available with entry numbers to accommodate those better suited to a different career level.
Simply using the HSC as the entrance barrier will ensure that this drop out rate continues !
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