hink of it all - of the life that is! Study your friends and foes!
Study the past! And answer this: "Are these times better than those?" The life-long quarrel, the paltry spite, the sting of your poisoned pride! No matter who fell it were better to fight as they did when the world was wide.
Universities to Select Students on 'equity'?
"UNIVERSITIES should place less emphasis on year 12 entry scores so that more disadvantaged students can get into prestigious courses, according to a leading vice-chancellor.In a radical suggestion presented to the conference yesterday, University of Sydney deputy vice-chancellor Ann Brewer suggested an "equity trading scheme", whereby institutions that boosted participation among disadvantaged groups would be rewarded with "credits". These could be traded for government funding.
[...]
Professor Robson's comments about ENTER scores come after the Australian Catholic University also raised concerns about the system, saying character and community service were equally important."
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In addition to pure intelligence, which can be used for destructive as well as constructive purposes, placing a tertiary emphasis on other aspects of character could indeed be good for society.
However the proposal to boost the intake of students from "disadvantaged groups" smells dangerously of moral self-righteousness rather than logic. Instead of lowering the standards for the various university courses, which is what this proposal would effectually do, it would seem to me more effective to reform and bring all the high schools around the country up to a good standard to ensure that every student, even if he or she is from a typically 'disadvantaged' area, has the opportunity to meet the expectations of a particular university course.
In this way we would not be lowering the standard of our highly educated people while we would be making it less likely that one's economic origins get in the way of any future potentiality in life.