A society cannot develop without people, and people's growth relies on education. A nation's ability to foster and use people in a scientific way is dependent on a sound, pragmatic education system.
The Australian method of training and utilizing people is noteworthy. There are thirty-eight public and two private universities throughout Australia. With the desire for knowledge and influenced by the latest study abroad trend, many young people set their eyes on universities, and quickly fattened these once starving institutions. Many universities have expanded their enrollment scale. In 2004, university enrollment hit an historical record when 660,000 undergraduate students were admitted- 25,000 more than in the previous year.
However, the upsurge in the college craze didn't receive government support. The fact is that authorities in education immediately issued a policy that slashed all additional quotas. Meanwhile, Prime Minister John Howard told young people that the society needs a workforce at different stages in life; some senior high school graduates can go to college in consideration of their potential, but more should receive vocational training so that they can start working as soon as possible. It is clear that the Australian government hopes to divert students from the "single-plank bridge" to college, in order to avoid forming a future cluster of educated people at the same level of experience that will in turn cause indigestion in the labor market.
The Australian government doesn't mean to restrict the cultivation of talent but in actuality, tries to press education forward along a healthy, pragmatic road to nurture society with competent workers at various education degrees. From as early as the 1970s, the government has paid special attention to fostering mid-level technical staff that society needed the most, and cooperated with several industries and schools to gradually establish more than 250 Technical and Further Education (TAFE) vocational institutions.
Students from UniSA are making glassEach year more than one million students study at these institutions, which make up 70 percent of Australia's vocational education system, and lead the world in offering vocational training. Being Australia's largest multi-level comprehensive vocational education system, TAFE turned out to be highly competitive with skill-oriented curriculums designed according to the real needs of industrial, commercial and other societal circles.
A society's rational utilization of people is also an important guarantee of a healthy education. In Australia, wage standards for people of different education levels are written in the law. Organizations usually employ people according to their actual needs. Whereas it's all right to recruit a candidate with a master's degree or a Ph.D. for a job that only requires a bachelor's; organizations must pay him/her according to the candidate's degree. An employer who treats workers of different degrees equally will be faced with a lawsuit. Here law plays a significant role in preventing the misuse of talents.
Australia pays even more attention to the cultivation of higher-level personnel. To sharpen the nation's competitive edge and boost its international status, a massive educational program was launched in 2001 to train doctoral and post-doctoral students, but kept their numbers strictly limited. Currently, there are some 38,000 doctoral students in Australia, but more than half of them are overseas students. A shortage of brains is not a problem, for they can be "dug out" from other countries.
In recent years, Australia has completely opened itself to overseas students, a move that brought in 5.2 billion Australian dollars annually (one Australian dollar is equal to approximately 0.8US dollar). The nation not only used the money for local education but also kept top graduates there on generous terms. We must admit Australia has followed a sound, pragmatic and wise approach in the education, training and utilization of people.
Students from Adelaide High School are making chemical experiments.By People's Daily Online
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