"Less than a third of young people gain university qualifications so it's important support is provided for non-university pathways." Janet

Circa one-third is a perhaps too high an enrolment, if we regard university education as truly "advanced" education. In past decades only 15% of the population were capable of surviving university courses. More recently,university entrance has become less competive and course work has been dumbed down. Being able to demonstrate a knowledge of often only a single text book and basic competences using a template is not higher education. I suggest the previous standard is apt for a clever country.

Education is not the key to wisdom & knowledge, it is merely a vehicle. Why ? Because education is a bookshelf provided by our predecessors, it is not new knowledge. New knowledge comes from those few who contribute to stacking this bookshelf with new information not by those who read the books & put them back again. Far too many believe that mere learning & passing exams makes them intelligent. That's the big mistake upon which the so-called intellectuals of today base their philosophies. It's a bit like building a brick house, you don't achieve anything with just a few bricks, but if you add more bricks you end up with a house. Learning without having any concept of how to apply the acquired knowledge is like revving the motor without engaging a gear. You use up fuel & get no-where. We're wasting valuable resources & talent with this indoctrinated stupid notion that education is the key to everything. It is merely one a whole bunch of keys. Have you ever wondered why so many educated people are so utterly stupid ? Because they only know what they've been taught !

We could start by subsidising to students all their texts, and providing adequate income support to students on a right-basis, regardless of their age, work history or parents' circumstances. It sounds like there's been a conservative and corporate backlash at easy access to tertiary education for the poor and the powers of society want to keep our egalitarian myth going while also undermining the ability of the poor, even poor and highly able, to study at university. The older generation owes us this. They chose to bring us into the world, yet supported and developed policies that would undermine advancement opportunities for those without resources or family support to study. Also while opening the floodgates to the worlds tired, poor huddled masses and selling off uni places to the highest offshore bidders who use them to buy residency.

Its actually the foreign students who subsidise the continued education of the Australian students. the local Aussie students are the Asian man's burden....