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Salient. Official Newspaper of the Victoria University Students' Association. Vol 44 No. 11. June 2 1981

Ideals Lost

Ideals Lost

With situation and policy decisions being made on ideological and political grounds, administration is now responding to the effects of these moves. This can be seen in a lowering of staff/student ratios, Fraser claimed, so that soon there will come a stage when the real purposes of universities will decline. Those purposes, he outlined as being;
  • a symbol for, and a place of, knowledge
  • a home for research
  • a centre of education, and
  • one of the few places where 'civilisation' still exists.

With the alternatives being either: cutting back on all research, other than that funded from outside the university; a lowering of standards in universities; or, restricting entry.

The latter at this stage though bad, is "the better of three evils".

This will be unfortunate, he stated, as a day is appearing when tertiary education may become a "defensive necessity", as higher qualifications become more important in obtaining jobs. If such a situation occurs, all "de facto restrictions" to access to university (such as economic or personal ones) must be removed.