Don't trade a living for a pile of junk

Posted to Herald Sun (13/4/2014) on 14/4/2014 at 3:30 AM
Commenting on "Don't trade a living for a pile of junk"
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/dont-trade-a-living-for-a-pile-of-junk/story-fni0fhh1-1226882726084

Having a degree from a university or college that offers higher qualification does not guarantee that graduate actually earns his/her mark.

Many universities of today are no better than a college with a facelift. TAFE and private colleges that offer Advanced Diploma as the highest qualification can no longer survive. Some have transformed into high-ed institutions offering degree courses, even though they are NOT universities.

The numbers game does not necessarily produce academics or achievers, but on the contrary it makes top students average, and unjustifiably lifts the non-deserving ones at par with the top graduates.

It is disgraceful that university standards have been lowered to improve pass rate. Plagiarism is so prevalent and close to epidemic proportion. Students pay professionals or past year’s students to complete their assignments. Hardworking and top performing students are frustrated by lazy and good for nothing team members in team project work; and unfortunately the genuine students’ outcome is affected negatively.

Australia needs more tradies, NOT university graduates who cannot fix plumbing, electrical works, or build houses. There are not enough upcoming tradies to replace the retiring ones. Whether it is about fixing a leaking toilet cistern, building a house, laying out NBN cable, etc, tradies’ charges will continue to soar unless more qualified tradies enter the workforce.

We MUST lift the educational standards from primary level onwards. A smart nation needs smart people. Unfortunately with our country run by not so smart politicians, things will never work out!

Am I cynical? Yes I am.

Is Uni. worth it?

Posted to The Age (6/3/2014) on 6/3/2014 at 2:25PM
Commenting on "Is uni worth it?"
http://www.theage.com.au/small-business/managing/blogs/the-venture/is-uni-worth-it-20140305-3464f.html

Trebia's is spot on.

I was a lecturer, tutor and TAFE teacher / trainer for two decades until recently. In the last ten years the tertiary education system has become a total disaster, and in many cases, the degree / certificate is not worth the paper it's printed on.

Most people commented are either holders of degrees or have been gainfully employed for several years. Decades ago it was not easy to pass my first degree in Information Science, or now known as IT today. I undertook several additional qualification since then. I witnessed experienced first hand as a student, as well as educator standing in front of my class, that the decline in the system.

It is important to note that TAFE and college Diploma and Advanced Diploma were cheap and sneaky ways to gain entrance to university for those who did not the achieve the minimum score in VCE. Before government policy changed before 1 July 2010, many colleges and TAFEs which previously catered mainly for overseas students turned to offer degree courses so that they could still survive.

Colleges and universities cannot afford be too strict to fail many students, and guidelines tend to be overlooked. High failure rate generates bad reputation for being too strict to pass, and therefore it is disastrous for business.

Growth in industries is far lower than the growth in higher education graduate numbers, even discounting those who leave employment due to retirement or other reasons. It does not take Einstein to work out why there are so many unemployed graduates.

Tough times for young job seekers (Post 2 of 2)

Posted to The Age (2/3/2012) on 2/3/2012 at 3:22 PM
Commenting on "Tough times for young job seekers"
http://www.theage.com.au/business/tough-times-for-young-job-seekers-20120302-1u721.html

Since Hawke and Keating years, young people are encouraged to go for paper qualification in University, and even now, the Government is so proud of the increase in University enrolment. The reasons for the increase are of twofold: one is due to the lowering of marks to gain entrance to higher education, and second, young people cannot find employment and hence are forced to pursue further education after high school.

At the vocational trade front, Australia is still crying out for more tradespeople many of whom have retired or are retiring. The shortage drives up cost of labour in construction, plumbing, connection and maintenance of household utilities, etc.

The smart Alec politicians want to make Australia to have a highly educated and qualified workforce. By population proportion, when Australia churns out one university graduate, USA churns out 15 and China 62.

Workforce needs work! Closure of factories takes away not only the full time jobs for the working families, but also apprenticeships and employment for the young people who need the starting point for future career path.

It is not that the young unemployed are choosy; just that some of the workplaces are inaccessible by public transport, and they may not speak the language to enable them to service special racial clients.

By the way, I'm a very qualified matured age unemployed, but fortunate enough to survive mortgage-free!

3000 more uni places

Posted to The Age (17/1/2012) on 17/1/2012 at 12:17 PM
Commenting on "3000 more uni places"
http://www.theage.com.au/national/tertiary-places/3000-more-uni-places-20120116-1q3a5.html

Having a degree from a university or college that offers higher qualification does not guarantee that graduate actually earns his/her mark.

Many universities of today are no better than a college with a facelift. TAFE and private colleges that offer Advanced Diploma as the highest qualification can no longer survive. Some have transformed into high-ed institutions offering degree courses, even though they are NOT universities.

The numbers game does not necessarily produce academics or achievers, but on the contrary it makes top students average, and unjustifiably lifts the non-deserving ones at par with the top graduates.

It is disgraceful that university standards have been lowered to improve pass rate. Plagiarism is so prevalent and close to epidemic proportion. Students pay professionals or past year’s students to complete their assignments. Hardworking and top performing students are frustrated by lazy and good for nothing team members in team project work; and unfortunately the genuine students’ outcome is affected negatively.

Australia needs more tradies, NOT university graduates who cannot fix plumbing, electrical works, or build houses. There are not enough upcoming tradies to replace the retiring ones. Whether it is about fixing a leaking toilet cistern, building a house, laying out NBN cable, etc, tradies’ charges will continue to soar unless more qualified tradies enter the workforce.

We MUST lift the educational standards from primary level onwards. A smart nation needs smart people. Unfortunately with our country is run by not so smart politicians, things will never work out!

Am I cynical? Yes I am.

Uni's a shock to students

Posted to Adelaide Now (18/9/2011) on 19/9/2011 at 12:16 PM, 4:20 PM, 4:50 PM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on “Uni's a shock for students”
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/unis-a-shock-for-students/story-e6frea6u-1226140351467

In general, schools prepare students to be Jack of trades and master of none.

Another problem is that there is always push for smaller class sizes and more teachers’ attention. While this may be alright for students below lower secondary, the change must begin in upper secondary as a transition to university. If students at this stage do not learn to compete academically, but still live in a protective cocoon, they will become lost souls in universities.

Unfortunately, many first year students tend to think that it is a honeymoon year with their new born freedom, after being treated like "kids" for the last 12 years or so at schools.

University is not a babysitting place and truancy is not monitored. Plagiarism is more prevalent in university, and attitude of lecturers varies according to their conscience and politics of the university.

Same argument can be said about universities not preparing graduates for future workplace environment and life journey. Don't be a baby, get over it Gen U.