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Education - defining the issue

Education: define the issue

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Questions answered in this section

  1. Why is Education an issue I should care about?

  2. What are the challenges we face with Education?

Education Content Image

The education system affects all of us and because of its size, there are always lots of issues as well as opportunities to improve it. Here are just a couple of problems that you could get involved in trying to change:

Student Support

Schools should be a safe place where young people feel supported to learn and connect with community. As you may know, not all schools give all students the right amount of support to help them do well in school, and life.

WHY IS THIS AN ISSUE? Can't young people look after themselves?

Students are not all one and the same. Some students:

  • Have learning difficulties

  • Face difficulties at home, such as family violence, poverty, and parents or family members with drug or alcohol problems

  • Have health issues

  • Live in places that make getting to school every day hard

This is obviously not ideal. Students with significant disadvantage are expected to achieve the same things as everyone else. As time goes on, they achieve less at school, and as a result, continue to receive fewer and fewer opportunities (like getting jobs or going to uni).

Better Life Skills

Focusing on real life issues such as:

  • How to look and apply for uni/TAFE

  • How to get a job

  • How to manage relationships.

This is a priority for a lot of young people, but isn't something that is often in the school curriculum. Building a better system that incorporates more practical life skills is essential to providing a well-rounded education.

Uni is so expensive!

Keeping fees down and access to higher education easier is suuuuuper important. Did you know:

  • 90% of all the jobs that will be available in the next 5 years will require more than a high school education

  • Having a higher education (like TAFE or uni) makes it much easier to get a job

  • Having a huge debt after studying is hard and impacts on how you can save and set yourself up for the future. So keeping it as small as possible is *very* important.

For disadvantaged young people, keeping fees down and scholarships available is even *more* important so that there is equal opportunity to succeed.