more uni places for 2008

The Age, AAP, 11 September 2007; The Age, Adam Morton, 12 September 2007; The Australian,
Catherine Armitage and Milanda Rout, 12 September 2007

 

Federal Education Minister, Ms Julie Bishop, has allocated an additional 2340 Commonwealth-supported university
places for 2008. The additional places will be distributed through out areas of professional shortage, such as teaching, engineering, science, nursing and accounting.

Universities Australia has found that in 2006 and 2007, approximately 13,200 people missed out on a place across
the country – a huge drop from the 36,100 people missing out three years ago.

Licardo Prince, a spokesperson for Victorian Skills Minister Jacinta Allan said that Victoria has the ‘highest level of
unmet demands,’ and that the extra places still fall short of meeting Victoria’s industry needs.

Ms Bishop revealed that Victoria would receive an additional 1588 places by 2011, and that the Federal Government
will remove penalties for over-enrolling next year, which will give universities across the country a potential 21,000 additional places.

Opposition Education spokesperson Stephen Smith believes that the new places are not new at all, and that the number
of new places are already accounted for through the government’s Skills for the Future package and Backing Australia’s Future initiative.

Of the 375 new teaching places, more than half have been given to private and Christian universities. During 2005
and 2006, enrolments at private universities increased by 24 percent.

Ms Bishop claims that ‘no eligible student is forced to take a place at a private university because there are now
sufficient Commonwealth-supported places.’ Ms Bishop believes that students are basing their education choices on
factors such as quality and flexibility instead of the availability of government-supported places.

Vice-chancellors from the University of Adelaide, The University of Western Australia and Monash University all agree
that the new government-supported places have been given to the courses with the highest demand.

 

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