The tin-pot third-world education strategy

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The tin-pot third-world education strategy: a ‘thick’ country or a ‘clever’ one?

Liz Gordon
National Chairperson

“The idea that less education is good for people is not a new one – just a view not heard much in recent years” said Liz Gordon today.

She was responding to the New Zealand Herald’s editorial supporting the aspirations of some of our universities to become more ‘elite’ by reducing access to qualified school leavers.

History

She said that prior to the late 1930s the view that education should be rationed was common. “Politicians were concerned that if people got a good education they would lose the taste for what one called ‘the backbone industries of the nation’, and would want better jobs.

“There was a concern that if people got a good education, they would increase their aspirations and would become dissatisfied if they were unable to be fulfilled. (I know all this because I wrote a thesis on it as part of my own education!)”

Modern policies

Dr. Gordon said that for the past 50 years New Zealand has broadly followed policies of expanding opportunities for people in tertiary education. She said there was a view that education was good for individuals (personally, socially and economically) and for the society as a whole.

“There is now massive, indisputable evidence of the value of tertiary education in our society. Persons with education are more productive, earn more, are happier, kinder and less likely to be convicted of crimes. They are more creative. Whole industries have arisen from growth in educational courses in areas such as media, fashion and design, engineering and many others”.

Dr Gordon argues that it makes sense to expand, not contract, education in a stagnant economy. “Education turns growing unemployment into an opportunity and a base for future growth. It is not a question of affording it: a society like New Zealand, which is so far behind others economically, cannot afford to reduce educational opportunities when all comparable countries are increasing them.

She said that the current funding problems are being seen by some institutions as a way to increase their own status. “The University of Auckland is not a private institution but a state one, and as such should be serving this nation. Instead, it is being highly self-serving, aiming to shut off entry to increase its own status. This is not in the nation’s interests”.

The over 20s

One group who are under attack are the over-20s. “A number of Vice Chancellors, led by Rod Carr of Canterbury University, are keen to see the law changed to cut off open entry to those aged over 20 years.

“I predict this will not happen”, she said. “While the universities like to say that adults do less well, any academic knows that adult students out-perform younger ones because of their additional age and experience. The reason that failure rates are higher for adult students is that many of them give tertiary education a try and do not like it, and drop out, leading to higher failure rates. Those who stay in and complete their courses do really well”.

“Everyone knows there are lies, damned lies and statistics. The Vice Chancellors are using certain statistics to argue for a law change. I want to use some statistics too. It is likely that there are more than 100,000 people living in New Zealand who gained qualifications and life satisfaction because of the open entry rules. There may be double that. As one of those people myself, I am committed to fighting to maintain open entry for adults, and a fair go for younger New Zealanders too. I predict a huge public reaction to any move to change the law around adult entry”.

What can the poor universities do?

“I have been asked in numerous interviews what the universities can do to cope with the unfunded influx of students. I agree that all places should be funded by government, but in the absence of such funding there is much the universities can do to improve efficiency and teach more students at lower cost without compromising quality.

“Whole courses can now be run online. While no-one knows if a person skips a lecture, online the student can be required to view a lecture and then comment on it. Also, the lecturer can use better quality visuals and be easier to see and hear. Online assessments can cut down time and marking work, increase flexibility, reduce lecturer loads and maintain and improve quality.

“There is also ample scope to share courses between universities – now there’s a thought!

“In short, the universities should be looking at technological solutions, not cost-cutting ones, to the increased demand for places.

A tin-pot elitist country where education is limited to the higher echelons, a thick country because education is rationed, or a clever country meeting the aspirations of the people with excellent opportunities to learn and transform themselves and the nation? Not a hard choice, says Liz Gordon.

ENDS

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