Ideology and education

As someone who believes that too many people go to university these days, I was mildly pleased to hear that the University of Auckland is planning to restrict entry to all undergraduate courses for 2009 ("University Senate back plan on numbers," New Zealand Herald Dec 4, 2007).

The university says it is making the changes to cope with a shortfall of money driven by cut backs in central government funding. Hence the university is planning to limit entry for art, education, science, theology and first year law. Not sure about the science limits, but the other cut backs sound excellent.

Over the last twenty years, the value of a university degree has steadily declined, as more and more marginal students, who have neither the academic aptitude or the intellectual curiosity for university-level courses, have drifted through the system to satisfy the government’s crude targets for more "human capital" throughput.

Unfortunately, as I read on, I realised that my initial impression, that for once common sense might trump ideology, was too good to be true. Predictably, the University deputy vice-Chancellor, Professor Raewyn Dalziel, says the institution plans to establish a taskforce to increase enrolment of under-represented students:

"The special admission schemes which set aside places for Maori, Pacific, and other under-represented communities operating in facilities which already restrict entry will be expanded."

If, by "under represented communities," the University means students from low-income families, then this looks to be another kick in the face for hard-working students and parents from lower-middle class families who tend to suffer the most from affirmative action policies.

While low-income families receive generous government allowances, and upper middle class kids can usually rely on parental support, students from middle-income families are caught in the middle - too well-off to be eligible for allowances, yet not rich enough to be able to rely on significant help from their parents. Now their opportunities to cover the cost of their courses, through scholarships or other subsidies, are likely to be further limited.

As I’ve said before, only indigenous minorities have a reasonable case for preferential treatment, and even then, they too should have to accept cutbacks in quotas when others groups are having to make sacrifices.