Be your best self.

The Real Problem With ‘Free’ Education In Australia

The Real Problem With ‘Free’ Education In Australia
Carly Jacobs
T

hink about the last thing that you got for free. Was it a cheap t-shirt that was attached to the front of your favourite glossy magazine? An ugly branded mug from a conference? A USB stick that you won’t ever use? Chances are most of these items are now sitting at a charity shop where no one will ever buy them because everyone knows they were free and as a consequence they have no value.

Old wooden desk and chair with books and a pen This is the problem with ‘free’ education in Australia. It’s often perceived to have no value because some people don’t pay directly for it. This presents a massive problem because it de-values such an essential yet basic human right, whilst simultaneously glorifying the private education system that requires hefty payments from the people who are privileged enough to be able to afford it. This creates the unfortunate and false equation that Private Education = Valuable and Public Education = Crap. I’m no politician but here are the things I’d love to see changed. [divider type=”thin” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]

Raise The University Entrance Score for Tertiary Bachelor of Education Students

 

You need a UAC score of 90 to study law at the University of Canberra in 2015.

You need a UAC score of 90 to study psychology at the University of Canberra in 2015.

You need a UAC score of 68 to study education at the University of Canberra in 2015… but 54 will get you a spot in a country town university if you move there and pay extra fees.

This is possibly the biggest problem we have in the education industry in Australia.

classroom I know a guy my age who got a UAC score of 42 in 2001 (a score I didn’t even know was possible as the cut off for scoring was usually about 50) and he got accepted into a Bachelor of Education at a country university that was desperate for his out-of-town fees. I’m sure his gender was also an attractive draw card (male teacher shortage) but I am really disappointed that a system designed to test a students suitability for their chosen career was blatantly ignored and that he was able to pay his way into a university course. Raising (and honouring) the UAC score for tertiary education courses is a pretty simple way to get better quality teachers in classrooms and quickly.

If a person can’t get through school effectively themselves, they probably aren’t the best candidate to teach our children how to do it. I’d like to see the minimum UAC score be raised to at least 75 across the board with a pay rise to match. I’d also like to see a stop put to rural universities seducing wealthy city kids with their low entrance scores so that they can pay their way to success. It’s so unfair to the students whose parents can’t afford to pay for the ‘gap’ in their UAC scores. [divider type=”thin” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]

Raise The Pay of Teachers

 

Graduate teachers in Victoria get paid about $45,000 per year which is the same as a retail store manager with no tertiary qualifications. Completing four years of tertiary education should secure that person a higher salary than if they HADN’T completed four years of tertiary education.  That’s what you’d expect for a time investment of that magnitude and it seems to apply to almost every profession but teaching. Graduate lawyers get about $70,000 per year which is $25,000 more than someone without a tertiary degree. Teachers get the same amount as someone without a tertiary degree. It makes four years of university and $30,000 in HECS debt seem like a pretty bad investment for teachers don’t you think? [divider type=”thin” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]

Give Itemised Financial Statements to Parents Showing That Everyone Pays for Education in Australia

 

Not everyone in Australia can afford to pay for the education of their child and I’m delighted to live in a country where education is not only available but mandatory to anyone under the age of sixteen. However there is a giant flaw in this system.

As I mentioned previously, people have a hard time valuing things that are free. What I’m suggesting is that every semester, all parents should receive a financial statement of how much it costs for their child to attend school, regardless of whether or not they pay school fees. It’s so important for all families to understand the financial figures of our ‘free’ education system. It’s not free. Not by a long shot and there are too many people who take our amazing government education system for granted. I have taught at schools where some of the parents couldn’t care less about their child’s education. I think people like this would benefit greatly from seeing how much money is being poured into a wasted opportunity. Fee paying families at private schools should also be made aware of how much government support their schools are receiving. Just because a parent isn’t paying fees doesn’t mean their child’s education is free and just because a parent is paying school fees doesn’t mean their child’s education isn’t government supported. [divider type=”thin” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]

Re-education of Parents

 

Some parents are brilliant. Some parents however, are less than brilliant. I once had a mother tell me that a colleague of mine was a ‘useless piece of shit.’ This was the same mother who was fanging for the school holidays to end because she couldn’t bear to spend another day with her child in the house. It’s absurd.

Imagine a child’s party with 25 guests. Now imagine this party lasting for 6 hours straight. Now imagine that this same party is going to happen every single week day for a ten week block, four times a year. Now imagine that you’re the only adult there. Oh and the only time you have to prepare for the next day’s party is the night before, after you’ve spent all day hosting THAT day’s party. It sounds insane doesn’t it? colorful felt-tip pens copper bowl without caps

Teaching is really hard work with very little fiscal rewards. I think all teachers would appreciate not being called lazy pieces of shit when they’ve been successfully keeping 25 students alive, happy and educated for the better part of every week day, a task that most people would find either impossible or completely abhorrent.

It’s incredibly difficult to teach a child to respect a teacher, when their parents don’t respect teachers. A parent may not like their child’s teacher and honestly, the teacher may not like the child but as long as they’re doing their job and safely educating their students, then they deserve respect and support from the parents at their school. [divider type=”thin” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]

Re-adjustment of Teaching ‘Language’

 

Some teachers are brilliant. Some teachers however, are less than brilliant. Teaching is commonly and falsely viewed as an ‘easy’ career. The University of SydneyThe common language surrounding teaching is that it’s a magical job, where you get decent pay to be adored by tiny humans all day and to top it all off you get 12 weeks holiday per year. ‘It’s basically the best job in the world and you don’t even have to be that smart to do it’!.

This is how bad teachers happen. They think that teaching is going to be easy and when they get into the classroom they realise it’s the exact opposite of what they thought it was going to be. They get cranky, they get tired, they get short-tempered and consequently turn into pretty average teachers because they didn’t actually want to be a teacher. They just did it because it was the only course they could get into with their average scores and some idiot told them that you only have to work from 9am to 3pm and then you can go to the pub. Bad teachers do exist and I’m fully aware of that.

However for every teacher who barely scraped through university, there are ten teachers with tops marks, multiple degrees, masters degrees and PHDs. I could have done anything I wanted at university and I chose teaching. I have several friends with PHDs who are public school teachers. The insulting phrase ‘Those who can’t do, teach.‘ needs to be banned from common vernacular immediately and the small percentage of average teachers need to stop being the central representive of teachers as a whole. Almost every teacher I’ve met is extraodinary. Fact.

We need to stop treating our free education system like a cheaply manufactured promotional mug. We need to stop with the ‘easy, lazy, soooo many holidays!’ language aimed at teachers. We need to make teaching a desirable career so that desirable people pursue it and thrive at it. We need to make people value free education and even out the playing field so that it ACTUALLY doesn’t matter where you send your kids to school and so the future of our younger generations isn’t based on how big their parent’s bank account is. [divider type=”thin” width=”1/1″ el_position=”first last”]

Over to you…

What changes would you like to see to our education system? Do you have school aged kids? What are your thoughts?

38 Comments

  1. Averil 10 years ago

    Great article! My kids go to our local public school, and we are very lucky that it’s an amazing school. Excellent teachers, great kids, lots of opportunities for the students. However, last week I was made aware that there’s a group of parents with kids in my sons class that aren’t happy with the teacher. I think she’s fantastic, my sons happy, learning, no problem. But this group of parents are bitching about her, complaining, telling everyone how crap she is. It’s infuriating, I feel so bad for her. You’re so right when you say if the parents don’t show respect then the kids never will.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      It makes my blood boil to think of people of trash talking teachers. The expectations are so high and parents often forget that there’s another 25 to 30 students in the class as well and that it’s not all about their own child.

  2. Amanda @ Gourmanda 10 years ago

    I think part of the problem now as well is that if a kid doesn’t do well in school, parents are more likely now to blame the teacher rather than question the child about why they aren’t behaving/doing homework/getting results. There’s definitely more emphasis on claiming that the child is right, rather than working with the teacher to get the child on track.

    Teachers definitely don’t get enough credit. I started a teaching degree (with a VCE score of 97.35, so I was a high achiever who chose to go into Education!) and then realised halfway through that while the intention was there (I wanted to change lives!), the temperament wasn’t. Teaching is a vocation, and it’s really important to get the right people into the job. Once they’re there, you need to award them as well!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Agree! Once teachers are in schools there needs to be better systems in place to keep them there. I once taught with a special Ed teacher from England and she said at her school every teacher got a full day off per week to plan. I nearly fell over when she told me that. It would make SUCH a difference.

  3. Yep, had many high school friends switch to an education degree because it would be ‘easier’. Awful. Don’t even get me started on the education system itself – I moved so much as a kid across Australia and the standards are so different everywhere.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      It’s so true. It’s really difficult to standarise teachers… especially when there’s incentives for teachers to move to rural parts of Australia for extra money. It’s all so corrupt.

  4. Bernadette Morley 10 years ago

    Awesome. And yes. We so need to value those who are teaching our future. Without them, we have nothing. x

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      EXACTLY! It’s such an important job and is so detrimental when done badly.

  5. Liz @ I Spy Plum Pie 10 years ago

    Great article! I agree with Amanda, the blame has definitely shifted and for lots of parents instead of siding with teachers they want to make them responsible for the fact their kid isn’t behaving/achieving, when often they’ve done everything they possibly could have!
    Teachers need more support, more funding and more credit because they really can change the course of a kids life. There’s a reason education is described as the silver bullet!
    I’m probably a strange example as I chose to leave a private school after 2 years to go to a public school (granted, the highest performing school in Victoria – private or public!), against my mum’s wishes, but it was probably the best thing I could have done. Our public system needs more love and attention (and funding, of course!)

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      That’s totally it. Heaps of parents blame the teachers and fail to see that the majority of the class is fine and their child is one of the few that’s having an issue. I had a friend who did a similar thing to you and it was an awesome decision for her. I don’t think that private education is suited to everyone.

  6. Fiona 10 years ago

    Rural unis have their places for teaching courses, but they need to be well funded so they don’t have to resort to full fee paying places in order to allow local students to get in.

    I couldn’t be a teacher. I’m a speechie, and 6 kids at a time is enough for me!!!

    • Madeline 10 years ago

      There is no such thing as “full fee paying places” for Australian citizens these days. An education student at the University of Melbourne pays exactly the same fees as an education student at any rural uni. If the government’s proposed changes to higher ed get through this will change, but at the moment the HECS HELP contribution amounts are exactly the same across ALL universities.

      • Author
        Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

        I wasn’t aware of that, thanks for the info. Do you have a link somewhere to this? I’d love to look at it!

        • Sarah 10 years ago

          Isn’t it still the case Australian students can pay their HECS fees up front and get some extra points to get into uni, + get a discount on their overall fees (introduced under Howard)? They don’t get/need a HECS supported place and can conceivably get into a course with fewer points than others without the means to pay. And although the HECS/HELP contribution is the same across all universities, total fees can differ over the lifetime of the degree as they are set by the uni (admittedly only up to a certain point at the moment) following fee reform under the Howard government? Also, you can get extra ATAR points for living in the region around certain (usually regional) universities.It’s not always the case that regional unis don’t offer as good an education, but they have incentives to attract students which aren’t necessarily about quality. Make it a five-star degree everywhere, I say!

          • Madeline 10 years ago

            If you make a voluntary payment of more than $500 you get a 5% discount, but that’s the only benefit now to paying up front. There is absolutely no benefit to paying up front in terms of getting an offer in the first place.

            “And although the HECS/HELP contribution is the same across all universities, total fees can differ over the lifetime of the degree as they are set by the uni (admittedly only up to a certain point at the moment) following fee reform under the Howard government?”
            This is completely false. Currently fees for domestic students with a Commonwealth Supported Place are set by the government, not the university. See http://studyassist.gov.au/sites/studyassist/helppayingmyfees/csps/pages/student-contribution-amounts for info on the contribution amounts (all unis set their fees at the top of the contribution ranges; there was some variation under the Howard government when the ranges were first introduced, but unis need money and so very soon all of them just started charging the top of the range).

            An Arts degree at the University of Melbourne costs exactly the same as one at Federation University, as long as all the subjects fall within the same contribution band (if a student took a computer science course then they would pay extra, but only because those subjects fall into a different contribution band). The Abbott government (not the Howard government) is proposing to deregulate university fees, allowing unis to set their own prices for degrees. A portion of the degree cost would still be paid for by the government, with the rest of the cost paid by the student (the same as it is now).

            You can indeed get bonus points on top of your ATAR, with each uni deciding how they will award these (there’s no one central set of criteria). It’s not just regional unis that offer bonus points to regional students – city and more “elite” unis also do this, as a way of making the playing field more equitable for all students. There are issues around this (see my reply further down), but it’s not necessarily a bad thing to offer these bonus points.

  7. Beck Douglas 10 years ago

    I’m in the fourth year of a Primary Teaching degree and, I pretty much agree with you but have a few alternate thoughts. I actually learnt in an AEU talk this morning that a grad teacher will earn just over $60 000 in their first year. That’s not bad. However, the earning potential of teachers will never get close to that of many other professions so that is a problem.
    I had/have a real problem with the low scores needed to get into a teaching degree BUT I know someone who just scraped into my primary teaching degree who I had completely written off in first year who studied their arse off, got excellent experience in their own time and, I think, will be a successful teacher. I don’t think this applies quite so much to secondary teaching though. Don’t get me wrong, you need brains to be a primary teacher, but the content for secondary is more complex to begin with. I still think the scores should be closer to 75 to get in but there are probably plenty of good teachers who’d miss out based on this.
    Can’t wait to teach but it’s going to be a hard slog and I really don’t fancy having to deal with disrespectful parents either – although so far I have just met lovely ones.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      I was looking around online and there’s a lot of descrepencies in pays. When I taught first year my salary was $45,000 but that was 7 years ago. I have a mate who graduated last year and she started on like $56,000 but that’s for a private school which is odd because they’re usually more. I got told in my first year that I’d be paid $60,000 but that was if I taught in rural Australia. I think there was a substantial pay rise in the last few years which is great. I haven’t taught full time since 2007 and full time are all over the shop it’s hard to figure out exactly what teachers earn. I look the scores this way – I would have made a fantastic doctor but I missed out on the UAC by 2 points. No one made any compensations for me so why do they make them for teaching? Even though teachers now get paid $60,000 in their first year they’re still amongst the lowest paid university graduates, which totally sucks. HOWEVER teaching is super rad and super awesome and I’m so glad you’re doing it! Good luck and keep your sense of humour! xxx

  8. Erika 10 years ago

    Not too sure where this is going, but anyways…. one of my best friends was a teacher. She was in SA, taught in Adelaide, up in the hills and in remote communities where the kids only spoke Pitjanjatjarra. She looked after her kids, got them interested in schoolwork, helped with difficult private lives. She made a huge difference. And the bureaucracy got bigger and bigger and eventually made it impossible for her to keep doing her job because it was less about teaching and more about getting forms filled in.

    So – in her memory, and remembering the good and bad teachers I had over the years, I’d like to see changes that make it possible for a love of teaching to be sustained. I’d like to see a lot more support, respect and value (social and financial) given to the profession. Idealistically, I’d love for school to be about finding your own passions as well as about basic life skills (literacy, numeracy, managing finances, home economics, social interaction).

    I want the education system to be fully funded by taxes. I’m one of the last generations to get “free” university and that is wrong on so many levels. I also believe vocational training should be fully funded. Trades are as important, as vital, as professions. And I want, oh gods how I want, for there to be more intellectual curiosity and integrity.

    • Erika 10 years ago

      Oops. And for the record, no children, no desire to have them, never have.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Absolutely it’s the sustainability that’s the issue… teachers have such short shelf lives because of lack of support and that definitley needs to change. I feel I came across as snobby with my raising of UAC scores – As teacher there needs to be HEAPS more trades based learning and support for students who don’t want to pursue academic careers. The options are horrendous and students should be supported in choosing trade based employment.

  9. mrshanksy 10 years ago

    This is my favourite thing I’ve read about education! We send our kids to public schools and I am so sick of being the shit on peoples shoes and how badly thought of our school is. It’s a fantastic school, my daughter is thriving and REAL, there’s no fake respect (“Yes Sir, No Sir”) – she is welcomed to voice her opinions good and/or bad.

    My sister is also a teacher and the amount of work she does at home preparing for the next day, is outrageous.
    I love the birthday party analogy. Also the university thing and the pay -100% agree. I would love to be a teacher and I have toyed with going to Uni to get my degree but sacrificing my income at the moment and 4 years of my life to come out the other side with less income, keeps me plugging away where I am. Also the thing with everyone expecting the teachers to do the parenting and blaming them when they can’t – when did this become a thing???!!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      It really is such a fantastic career and I’d hate to think that I’m talking anyone out of it but the fact is I’ve spent most of my teaching career trying to get out of the teaching career. It’s exhausting and thankless. Having said that there is nothing more awesome than a good day teaching. They’re very special days.

  10. Madeline 10 years ago

    “…he got accepted into a Bachelor of Education at a country university that was desperate for his out-of-town fees… he was able to pay his way into a university course.”
    Could you just clarify what you mean by these “out of town fees”? Do you mean accommodation fees etc? Because tuition fees at a rural university are exactly the same as those at all other universities across the country. Full fee paying domestic places were abolished years ago.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      This was back when I graduated high school in 2001 and back then there were all these offers from country universities where if you paid full, up front fees and lived on campus you could get in to courses for lower UACs than you would have in a bigger city. I know this was happening up until a few years ago because a teacher friend told me her daughter was doing the same thing because she didn’t get the grades she needed. I don’t think these practices are advertised though. I can’t speak for the last few years but studying education has always been rife with extras and bonuses to get people interested in the profession. The year I graduated year 12, pretty much anyone who wanted to do maths teaching got a full scholarship and didn’t have to pay a cent for their university education. People got accepted to that program who had barely passed maths. It was ridiculous.

      • Madeline 10 years ago

        (Sorry for slow reply, have been travelling last couple of days!)
        Full fee places did exist for domestic students, but were abolished under the Gillard government as part of the removal of caps on the number of Commonwealth-supported places universities could offer (see http://mq.edu.au/study/undergraduate/getting_in/undergraduate_faqs/#2 for an example from a uni page stating this info). Previously, the government placed a limit on how many CSP places (or HECS places) that a uni could offer – it was a limit on the amount of funding that would be provided, basically. That’s why full-fee places existed: unis could take in more students than they had HECS places, but students had to pay full fees for them. Under the uncapped system the government funds as many places as unis can fill, so there’s no need for full-fee places and they were therefore abolished (although students at TAFEs or other kinds of training institutions that offer degrees pay full fees, as do most postgrad students). The removal of caps resulted in a massive increase in the number of offers being made (see http://www.smh.com.au/national/postgraduate-education/uncapped-unis-offer-record-student-places-20120214-1t49z.html and http://www.afr.com/p/national/universities_make_more_offers_as_5eWBRjFEiE8KR3hVlsCquO for stats on numbers in the first uncapped intake).

        All CSP students pay the same fees, regardless of where they’re studying. The only variation in fees is across degrees, with the fees divided into three bands. Info on the current contribution bands (and lots of other info on paying for uni) is at http://studyassist.gov.au/sites/studyassist/helppayingmyfees/csps/pages/student-contribution-amounts. You can get a small discount (currently 5%) if you pay some or all of your fees upfront (has to be a payment of at least $500).

        There’s no way to “buy” your way into a degree now, but there are still issues around degree quality and low entry standards. All unis publish entry cut-offs for degrees, but students can often get in with a lower ATAR. All institutions offer some form of bonus points scheme or alternative pathways – these can be important equity tools when done right (students can get extra points on top of their ATAR if they come from a non-English speaking background, for example, or their schooling was disrupted because of illness) but it can also be a way for unis to fudge entry requirements and make offers to students who probably should be looking at something other than uni as the next step after year 12.

        Hope this clears some of it up for you! Can I gently suggest you change some of the wording in your original post to reflect the changes that have happened in the last few years? There are serious issues with higher ed in this country, particularly around equitable access and course quality (and possibly even more serious issues to come if the government’s proposed changes get through!) without further confusing the topic with out of date information.

  11. Carli 10 years ago

    Amen. A decent education should be every child’s right and not related to where they live or what their parents can afford.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Exactly. I also get a bit shitty with kids who are lazy because their parents have the money to bail them out. Makes me very stabby.

  12. 26 Years and Counting 10 years ago

    I’m far from an expert in education, but those northern European countries where teachers are highly paid, educated and respected seem to have it sorted out pretty well.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Sweden. They are geniuses over there. Teachers get planning time. Enough said.

  13. The Wandering Eye 10 years ago

    Some great analysis here Carly.

    I’m a teacher (on mat leave) and agree with the majority of your points. I have three degrees, graduated dux of my post-grad degree and can potentially make far more money in the private sector. I am not alone in having many options and still choosing teaching as a career. I also choose to teach exclusively at public schools which is a political choice. My opinion, based of course on my experiences, is that education policy is rarely grounded in research-based approaches. The focus on student testing/performance-based pay for teachers is not only proven to lead to little to no outcomes, it is applying a corporate sector mentality to what is truly a social/community capital building endeavour. Collegiality amongst teachers is key to a healthy, thriving and evolving engagement with curriculum. A focus on test-scores leads to rote learning, teaching to the test, etc rather than instilling students with a genuine love of learning, curiosity and problem solving capacities.

    I have always considered 12 weeks annual leave to be the accumulation of time-in-lieu. I have opted to begin a small business to hopefully achieve some work/life balance as the marking/planning/extra curricular demands of delivering a meaningful, challenging and satisfying curriculum to my students is overwhelming as a new parent. The current retention rates for new teachers is a mere five years. The stress/workload and inflexible working conditions are primarily to blame for this. Principals need to be supported to offer job-sharing, more part-time opportunities, etc. People who make good teachers also make excellent students. I would love the opportunity to work part-time whilst completing further study.

    Ken Robinson’s talk on how to meaningfully engage with new educational paradigms is wonderful if you are interested in such issues. Here’s a link – http://www.thersa.org/events/video/archive/sir-ken-robinson.

    Sorry for the essay; this is an issue close to my heart and I love that you are starting conversations about topics like this. I’ve read your blog forever and whilst I still love the fashion, I feel like Smaggle offers brain food and not just eye candy these days xxx

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      I agree, it’s MUCH easier to teach in a supportive school than I shit one. I taught in the worst school of my live a few years ago where the teachers just all turned on each other. It was disgusting. I left and never went back. Those kids though, they’re the ones that suffer in situations like that. The holiday thing is debateable. I’ve just taught at a private school and nearly every holidays is full of co-curricular and PD stuff. It’s pretty ridiculous. Thank you so much for your lovely comment – I just love hearing other people’s perspective on things!

  14. Kylie 10 years ago

    As a teacher I find it difficult to explain to others exactly what it is I do all day, particularly outside the 9-3 hours. My colleague asks her office working mates how they feel and prepare for a 45 minute presentation and then very kindly tells them that she does that 7 times a day.

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 10 years ago

      Totally! I love that analogy. My teacher friends (and my nursing friends!) are THE ONLY ONES who never read my blog or comment on Facebook during work hours. Says a lot doesn’t it? 🙂

  15. Sweet Mama M 10 years ago

    As a teacher, I want to kiss you right now! In NZ, the quals to get into the Bachelor are a little higher, but amen to everything else!

  16. dr stumpy 10 years ago

    Amen to that 🙂

  17. Erin 9 years ago

    I’ve recently started my Grad Dip in Primary teaching. After 13 years in the Navy, and the birth of my bub it’s time for a change. It saddens me that, after talking to a friend who went from the Navy to teaching a few years ago, she said to me “Erin, you’re a Navigator, you’ve been driving warships for 13 years, but as soon as you step onto those school grounds every single parent is automatically going to think that you know nothing and that they’re better than you. To them, you’re nothing but a babysitter now.” Her attitude really surprised me. Almost as though we should be giving our CV out to all of the parents!!

    On another note, I agree with raising the HSC scores for teaching. I am doing my study online (since I’m still working full time) and some of the writing and grammar I’m seeing from my fellow course members makes me concerned for my own daughters education, even at a Grad Dip level. It’s quite shocking, and an issue that needs to be addressed by the Uni’s asap.

Pingbacks

  1. […] once wrote an article about education in Australia and I said that rural universities accept lower scores from out-of-town students if they pay full […]

Leave a Reply