Last week I learnt from one of the lads I coach that he is attending a Catholic university. When I asked why he wasn't attending the local university he said he didn't quite get the marks to do the same course. Then he related that he was able to get a bump to his ATAR score of 5 marks because he had attended a Catholic Secondary school.

While I am all for those attending lower socio-economic schools, or under-represented schools (not many graduates going to university), and even those attending rural schools, being offered some form of discount/help with their ATAR mark, this one caught me by surprise.

The Catholic secondary school he attended is one of the top four private schools in my area. It would be hard to make a case for any disadvantage. His own interpretation is the over riding factor centred on the fact it is a Catholic campus and therefore he was eligible for a discount on his entry score.

Catholic universities proudly proclaim they have an open admissions policy, as they should because they secure billions of tax payers dollars to educate Australians.

I have no problem with them having certain rules of behaviour that might reflect their faith, nor of offering some courses that are religious in nature, what I do object to though is giving preferential treatment to one group over the rest based purely on religion. It certainly offends my sense of a fair go, the desirability of fair access for all, and the need to hold religion at arms length when dealing with taxpayer's funds.

I'm interested to hear what others think.

Relax, SteeleRedux. It's not a religion thing.

Unless you deem sport to be a religious activity.

"The information provided in your Elite Athletes and Artistic Performers Entry Scheme application will be considered and may result in a positive ATAR aggregate adjustment of either 4 or 6 points based upon the assessed impact of the elite activity."

http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/admissions/high_achievers_programs/elite-athletes-and-artistic-performers

There are other angles too, I understand.

Dear Pericles,

With respect the matter I am referring to is of course a religious thing.

Perhaps I need to take the time to state my concerns more simply.

There may well many ways ATAR scores are inflated for various reasons, some of which both of us have furnished. Yet most if not all of them can be seen in the light of increasing fairness into the system.

My contention is that awarding inflated ATAR scores due to religious affiliation for entry into an institution that sources the bulk of its funding from the tax payer does not pass that fairness test.

Further it should be an anathema those who espouse the ideal that religion and the state should be held at arms length. Hopefully this is an Australian ethic and one that is held by the majority of us.

After what the cathodes have done you have got to be joking. School is school no matter what capacity you are in.
The whole university thing is a farce, it's jobs for the learned/, which would have no hope anywhere else.
No subject is job specific, and no information is common knowledge.
Can you explain an Arts degree.

Dear SteeleRedux,

The Catholic Universities are in the same situation
as regional/rural universities that don't have
enough students to fill places so they make certain allowances
for city/high school graduates by granting them easier
entry. Catholic Universities have the same problem and
of course their main source of entrance would logically
come from Catholic Schools. Thus the additional points
for allowing religious education.

We know of students being given extra points for having
studied foreign languages other than those that are
usually taught at high schools, for example, languages
like - Hungarian, and similar non-curriculum languages.
That students study at week-end schools.

"My contention is that awarding inflated ATAR scores due to religious affiliation for entry into an institution that sources the bulk of its funding from the tax payer does not pass that fairness test."

This would hold true if the bulk of the students were so recruited but this case would be covered by the other source of funding.