Research in Higher Education

The Australian: Higher Education

In the Higher Education section of The Australian newspaper today, some of the potential changes to Australia's higher education system were discussed. In my opinion these changes are worrying from a number of angles. The first is that they are yet another facet of the implacable drive of the Howard Government to privatise every remaining asset of the Australian people. As a left-leaning person, I cannot help but be horrified by the moves the Howard Government has made to turn our public services into businesses. How much longer can it be until we are expected to pay for our services rendered by our police forces?

The second manner in which these changes worry me is what I see as an abandonment of the very nature of a University. To my mind, the role of a University in society (any society) is the investigation of ourselves, as human beings and a society, and our environment. The University should be dedicated to extending our understanding of ourselves and our world through the sciences, through the humanities and through the arts. The University ought to be conducting research into every aspect of our existence with the passion, drive and focus exhibited by the very best academics and researchers the world over. Furthermore, the University ought to be sharing the results of this research and instilling in the next generation the same desire to explore, to investigate and to innovate. By divorcing research from teaching, we will be divorcing the University and its work from the students, we will be removing the opportunity of the next generation of researchers to be exposed to one of the University's most important roles in society.

As a current student hoping, some day, to become an academic and to help contribute to my science and the education of future generations of scientists, I cannot help but feel that I have missed the boat. I cannot help but feel that, in fours years time, when I have my doctorate and look for a position in academia, I will have no choice but to move overseas. I will have no choice but to become part of the brain-drain, to become part of the problem.

I realise that my view on the University and its role may be considered archaic, that many people see economic rationalism as the way to go, that competition between academic institutions can only help our students. I cannot help but wonder if somewhere there might be a country that supports its academics and researchers and the role they play in society. If things here continue the way that I imagine they will, as soon as I discover this mythical country, I'll be off (being sure to repay the HECS debt incurred during my undergraduate studies of course).