Give us the Facts

The Commission of Inquiry into University Education is here. No one will envy the eminent gentlemen their task after years of seemingly unorganised striving towards the goal of higher education but all will wish them well.

We have already commented on a prior occasion on the quality of the chairman, Sir David Hughes Parry, Mr. G. C. Andrew and Dr. R. W. Harman, it behoves us only to welcome them.

For weeks now universities, teachers and students have been amassing data to justify cases for the committee's deliberation.

The pity of it all it, at least in the case of the students, much of the work has been done by instinct. If the Commission does nothing else it has highlighted the fact that student records have not been as well kept as one would imagine.

Victoria's own student education sub-committee has been specially up against it. The previous executive seemed to have not realised the urgency of amassing data, and Miss Jane Fogg and her fellow workers have had a hard row to hoe to get everything ready in time.

As they fought against time they discovered simple information, such as the position of student accommodation, that should have been readily at hand, demanded a great deal of research, some of which has been of necessity sketchy.

They have attempted, we hope with some success, to wipe up the spilt milk. We urgently press the executive to do something now to ensure it is not there to be cried over again.

We are not expert statisticians or sociologists, but we are sure such people could help the association in setting up a proper data recording system, easy to keep up to date, and readily available in cases such as this.

In exec's consideration of streamlining the organisation this should be a major consideration.

Instinct may be right, it may be wrong but generally students aren't round long enough to find out and somebody else suffers, as the next generation may, or may not, discover.