Tertiary education rates down in southwest Sydney

Fairfield has the least number of tertiary-educated residents in Sydney – and local universities want to turn the tide.

Fairfield has the least number of tertiary educated residents in Sydney.

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Fairfield has the least number of tertiary educated residents in Sydney.

More than 60 per cent of residents have no tertiary qualifications of any kind – degrees, diplomas or vocational training – according to recently released Census data from 2011.

It is also the only Sydney area where the number of university educated students falls below 10 per cent of the population, at just 9.2 per cent.

Western Sydney University (WSU) assistant vice-chancellor Andy Marks said the reasons for the low rates of education attainment were complex.

Dr Andy Marks from Western Sydney University

“There is no question social and economic disadvantage impact significantly on education outcomes,” Dr Marks said.

“In looking at areas experiencing education disadvantage, the university is conscious some parts of western Sydney are particularly marginalised.”

As WSU and Wollongong University (UOW) open new campuses in the west and southwest, Fairfield is the last southwestern region without a university campus.

But Dr Marks said the university was monitoring access and demand for higher education in Fairfield.

“WSU has no immediate plans for establishment of a campus in Fairfield,” he said. “About 3000 Fairfield residents already attend WSU, mostly at our Parramatta, Bankstown or Campbelltown campuses – in 2018 we’re opening a highrise campus in Liverpool.”

Dr Marks said WSU had arguably the strongest record of any Australian higher education institute in lifting enrolments among disadvantaged groups.

“They comprise over 25 per cent of our total enrolments, and our commitment to supporting those students remains very strong,” he said.

“Clearly there is more work to be done to lift educational attainment levels … in general, but no university has done more to redress that challenge than WSU.”

Melisa Camdzic from Prestons is among the first cohort to start studying at the University of Wollongong's southwest Sydney campus in Liverpool.

A UOW spokeswoman said Fairfield was an important community connected to its South Western Sydney Campus, which opened in Liverpool this year.

“The great southwest region of Sydney is projected to see massive growth over the coming decades and the university is aware that students are looking for greater educational choice in the region,” she said.