Education concerns as unis accept students with low ATAR scores for teaching degrees
EVERY major NSW university has accepted students with very low HSC results to enrol in its teaching degrees, sparking claims that future students would not be taught by the “best and brightest”.
NSW
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EVERY major NSW university has accepted students with very low HSC results to enrol in its teaching degrees, sparking claims that future students would not be taught by the “best and brightest”.
The University of Wollongong accepted students with Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranks (ATAR) as low as 25.7, despite advertising the minimum would be 73.
Similarly Southern Cross University, Australian Catholic University and University of Western Sydney accepted students whose ATAR score was 40 or below.
However, the unis said these students either came from disadvantaged homes or suffered trauma in Year 12.
Education and Training Minister Simon Birmingham said ATAR scores weren’t the be-all and end-all but these low-scoring entrants into teaching degrees set off alarm bells.
“Australians rightly expect that school students are being taught by the best and highest-skilled teachers,” he said.
Mr Birmingham’s concerns were shared by Sydney University academic Dr Rachel Wilson, who said a growing group of “low attainers” were filling teaching degrees.
Dr Wilson cited data collected by the Australian Institute for Standards in Teaching and Learning, which showed the number of entrants into teaching courses with ATAR scores between 30 and 50 had trebled in the last 15 years.
NSW Teachers Federation president Maurie Mulheron claimed universities are accepting low-scoring applicants purely to claim more money from the federal government.
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The Teachers Federation has called for teaching degrees to be limited to the top 30 per cent of students, which would equate to an ATAR above 80.
Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson said these students had valid reasons: “A young person who has lost a parent while trying to complete their final year of school, for example, shouldn’t be turned away from university”.
University of Wollongong said the students accepted with scores below 32.6 were all admitted before the students even sat their HSC exams under special provisions for students with disabilities or from poor homes.
Australian Catholic University Acting Executive Dean, Faculty of Education & Arts, Professor Elizabeth Labone said: “It is very rare for students to be accepted on such low ATARs, but when they are, it’s because there are extenuating personal circumstances that we take into account. An ATAR is one of a number of factors that ACU considers in order to provide the strength and diversity needed for teachers in our classrooms.”