Over the past 60 years a great sea change has occurred in the field of education. In 1950, education, whether in schools, technical colleges or universities, was effectively a state monopoly. Yes, there were Catholic schools and a few Protestant ones, but these two functioned as sidekicks of the great public education system.
Commonwealth funding for university places should be extended to private providers to encourage wider participation in higher education, a Victorian government panel has recommended.
Nearly a fifth of Australian private colleges are "permanent residency factories", a new report in the education sector has revealed. The education sector, which is the country's third largest export industry, has been affected by a string of assaults on international students, particularly Indians. The claims of exploitation of overseas students have also not helped matters.