Archived News for Education Sector Professionals
Indian students are increasingly concerned by a perceived decline in quality of education and the prevalence of racism in Australia according to findings published by Canadian group Higher Education Strategy Association.
HESA conducted a survey of 3000 Indian students and found that while 56 per cent of students found that Australian universities were of very high or high quality, 27 per cent believed them to be moderate quality and 10 per cent thought them to be of poor or very poor quality.
The results are a stark contrast to similar surveys conducted in the US and UK. Asked similar questions, 84 per cent of respondents believed American universities to be of high or very high quality. Respondents in the UK found that 80 per cent of universities were of a high or very high quality.
$20 million for Victorian regional students
The Victorian Government has announced a $20 million package aimed at facilitating easier access to higher education for the state’s regional students.
New group to advise on IT in education
The School Education Minister Peter Garrett has announced the creation of a new advisory group of education and IT experts to provide the Australian Government with advice on the next steps towards transforming teaching and learning through technology.
Melbourne University gets broadband funding
The Victorian Minister for Technology, Gordon Rich-Phillips has announced that the State Government will provide $3 million as part of a $21 million investment in the University of Melbourne’s Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society (IBES).
New resource for science teachers
The Federal Government has announced the launching of a new online science resource designed the give school science teachers access to cutting each technology information.
Melbourne School of Engineering seeking senior appointees
The Melbourne School of Engineering is inviting applications for up to fifteen continuing appointments from engineering scholars of international distinction.
States and Territories sign up to school governance overhaul
State and Territory Education Ministers have agreed to participate in Phase One of the Australian Government’s Empowering Local Schools initiative, subject to the successful negotiation of a National Partnership and bilateral implementation plans with States and Territories and funding agreements with non-government education authorities.
National standard set for school principals
The Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs has endorsed a National Professional Standard for Principals to support the professional preparation, development and self-reflection of aspiring and practising principals in schools across Australia.
Victoria and NSW cool on curriculum reform
Education Ministers from New South Wales and Victoria have expressed reservations about progress to a National Curriculum following a meeting of the Ministerial Council on Education, Early Childhood and Youth Development (MCEECDYA) held in Melbourne earlier this month.
$500 million for regional universities and TAFEs
The Federal Government has announced a $500 million infrastructure spending packaged focused on the construction of state-of-the-art educational facilities across regional Australia.
UniSA research to boost indigenous teachers
The David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research (DUCIER) at the University of South Australia has been awarded $7.5 million from the Federal Government to research and implement ways of increasing the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers in Australian schools.
Report predicts declining international student numbers will cost $37.8 billion
Universities Australia has released a commissioned report forecasting that the impact on the Australian economy of the downturn in international student numbers will be $37.8 billion for the decade to 2020.
Effects of VET and uni completion on wages
A new report by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has found that the difference in wages of those who complete their TAFE studies and those who do not complete tend to disappear over time.
New director-general for NSW education department
Dr Michele Bruniges has been appointed as the new Director-General of the Department of Education and Communities and Managing Director of TAFE NSW.
Federal Government reports 100,000 additional university places
The Federal Government has reported an additional 100,000 university places since taking power in 2007.
Funding to boost Indigenous teaching and learning
Federal funding of $7.5 million has been provided for a new project, the More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers project, that will investigate the best ways to increase the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers in Australian schools.
New national skills training regulator begins operation
The new financial year marked the commencement of the national vocational education and training regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), which will regulate registered training organisations (RTOs) and course owners in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory, and some RTOs in Victoria and Western Australia.
Tasmania backs down on school closures
The Tasmanian Government has backed down on its decision to close 20 schools.
Adelaide University pushes for clean hydrogen energy
Adelaide University has announced advanced research into the use of metal nanoparticles in the generation of hydrogen energy.
UnionsWA calls for review of Independent Public Schools policy
Western Australia’s peak union body, UnionsWA, has used results of a Curtin University study to reinforce its criticism of the WA Government’s Independent Public Schools (IPS) initiative.
Enrolments in public vocational education and training surge
Enrolments in public vocational education and training course in 2010 rose by 5.4% from 2009, to a total of 1.8 million students, according to a report released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).