The Time Has Come (the Walrus said)

I’m certainly grateful for the little bit of education I received, all the way to year 9, way back in 1967. School leaving age was 15 then and when I turned 15 Dad said I was finished with school. So I finished, but had absolutely no idea what to do then, yes, woefully ignorant me envisioned days of reading, swimming, not much else. Now of course, I wish I’d known more and done more, but I’ve got to the point where I’m happy enough with the way things have turned out. Mostly.

You’re right. We would have found it hard without the government picking up most of the cost. Particularly as we had 3 children close together so we soon had three at University at the one time. Without the government picking up most of the fees, we would have found it almost impossible as it was hard enough as it was. I could never understand the Labour Government bringing in HECS and I am sure that it largely arose as a consequence of continuing pressure from the Murdoch newspapers. Similarly, I still cannot understand the approach of the Howard Government while they were in power. I mean, that John Howard and most of his Cabinet were the products of Commonwealth Scholarships as was I and yet they regarded anybody who had a University degree as the ‘enemy’ and proceeded to cut and cut again the funds available to Universities. While other countries were increasing the amounts allocated to tertiary education which after all is the only way the future holds for any country, our Liberal Government proceeded to systematically destroy the tertiary sector. As somebody said, if you think that education is expensive, then just consider the cost of ignorance. The current shortage of medical doctors is just one of the outcomes of idiotic Liberal Party policies.
What Rudd & Co need to do is to allocate huge amounts of money to tertiary education for the next 10 years or as long as they are able to with the aim of moving all of our Universities into the top group in the world. and then we need to get Australian students into them which means educating the secondary school teachers too. I used to do some unpaid tutoring at the University in the Engineering faculty and was surprised by the extremely low numbers of Anglo-Saxon surnames that were there. I don’t believe that I am racist but when I started they were predominantly Greek and Italian and when I finished almost exclusively Chinese or of other SE Asian origin. The continuing emphasis on sporting prowess is a source of great discomfort and needs to be changed. Murdoch press again?
And by the way, I also contribute each year to the scholarship fund. Wish I could do more but there are other charities to support also.
I think that it’s up to everybody later in life to give back to Society something of what they have received. It’s paying your dues to Society really.
Dad

I think a lot of the Gough-era graduates DO take their education for granted – it cost nix, so who gives a damn?

And many were only too happy to be shot of the place (I know after 5 years I sure was) and wanted nothing to do with it again. I must have been one of the very few who actually joined the Alumni Association.

As for HECS – I think its evil. I DON’T think everyone should go to university, nor even that everyone should do Tertiary Education. But those who can, should – ability should not be constrained by ability to pay.

I suspect our governments make it difficult from some pointy-headed economic rationalist desire for user-pays. But as I have pointed out before, here:

http://wallythewalrus.com/?p=12

those who are charged HECS pay for their education 3 times over – through HECS, through higher taxes, and through less long-term drain on the social security system. The long term payment for ones education is significant but under-appreciated.

Governments also, of course, don’t want an educated population. Because the proles are easier to control when you feed them on bullshit, platitudes, football, sport in general, and they can’t THINK well enough to figure out what their governments are actually doing.

While governments have such attitudes, it falls on the rest of us to kick in a few quid to give others a chance in future.

We can have smart graduates and smart students in future – but more in spite of our governments, not because of them.

“they can’t think well enough to figure out what their governments are actually doing”
Yep, that’s me. I find the machinations of governments and politics very confusing. I’ve given up trying to understand it all.