Universities Are Seminaries of Woke
In 2020 Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has announced a number of reforms to Australia’s higher education sector. Although never explicitly said these reforms are designed to end Universities being Seminaries of Woke and return them to places of skilled education to equip young people for the jobs that will be in demand in the future.
In June Dan Tehan announced overall reduce the federal government’s financial contribution to university degrees from 58 per cent to 52 per cent and increase student own fee contributions from 42 per cent to 48 per cent.
The federal government also plans to redistribute its level of financial contribution to each degree depending on demand for that degree’s skill in the job market. Dan Tehan explained, “We incentivise students to make more job-relevant choices, that lead to more job-ready graduates, by reducing the student contribution in areas of expected employment growth and demand.”
The planned funding redistributions would see the student prices for each degree as follows: A 62pc decrease agriculture and maths degrees: a 46pc decrease in teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English and languages degrees: a 20pc decrease in science, health, architecture, environmental science, IT and engineering degrees: no change to medicine, dental and veterinary science degrees: a 28pc increase law and commerce degrees: and 113 per cent increase in arts, humanities and social science degree.
Last week Dan Tehan announced further higher education reform that first-year university students who fail more than half their subjects would lose federal government support (HECS) for their degree. The clear aim being to filter out students for whom pursuing a university degree is not in theirs or anyone else’s best interest, with the hip pocket incentive being utilized
These reforms do have to pass the parliament first but are a welcome step in changing the current trend of universities becoming cultural Marxist training grounds. The higher education lobby is already raging against them claiming they are an act of oppression against those who want to pursue academic and career greatness.
University administrations, humanities departments and student unions have contributed to the modern university experience becoming fixated on racism, sexism, the past, oppression, those greedy capitalists, white privilege not enough free stuff. The cult of envy is Australia’s cult defacto religion with the university woke.
Using universities as a luanching pad the progressive left culture warriors are getting exactly what they want so far: a huge administrative state, the destruction of Western society, destruction of female and male as distinct categories, lowering of education standards, cushioned triggered students who are continually banning or censoring and even tearing down. Book burning will be next followed by churches.
Critical race theory permeates modern univerties. It is a theory that posits individuals as oppressed based on their skin color. They elevate victimhood as virtue for many groups but it will create a culture in which people are tripping over themselves to be oppressed and be the victim.
Subversive university education has long been infiltrated by Marxists who actually poison race relations through: violence, cancel culture, trigger warnings, safe-spaces and has the political narrative if division, violence then control.
The far-left ideology of intersectionality has taken over. This means all life problems experienced by favoured victim groups is explained through a lens of permanent oppression. Every problem is said to stem from racism, sexism, racism, oppression, regardless of a shred of evidence.
The left are utopians. They believe society can be transformed and humankind perfected. Human nature can be demolished and rebuilt again once they have sufficient power. It means more government, more top-down planning, more conformity of opinions. The road to utopia is a never-ending game. The banner of diversity and inclusion means simply shut up and conform or else. The infinite never-ending road to utopia means an army of woke activists, enforcers, administrators and many ready to pounce on any indiscretions. If you belong to one of the favoured victim groups and you betray the left-look out! You will be an outcast.
Universities now have safety culture and cancel culture. The pervasive idea that people need safety and that they are victims is destructive. Stress-free environments mean the eradication of merit, quotas, stifling free speech, trigger warnings and safe spaces. Actual diversity of views barely exists. Anti-capitalism, anti-wealth, anti-Western and promotion of identity politics, gender politics and race politics is set in concrete. Increasingly truth and objective truths are hurled aside. Black Lives Matter is enthusiastically embraced.
With the university sector’s biggest revenue driver foreign students being cut off due to international border closures as a result of the coronavirus pandemic now is the perfect time for a massive restructure of the university sector for both training the youth for the jobs of the future and destroying the cultural Marxist influence that current pervades them which is currently poisoning our society.