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Uni bias inquiry dismissed as skit

Posted December 4, 2008 14:24:00
Updated December 4, 2008 14:58:00

A Senate Committee has dismissed its own inquiry into bias at universities and schools as a waste of time.

The inquiry into whether there is academic bias in Australia's education system was referred to the Senate Committee by Liberal Senator Mitch Fifield.

It came after a campaign by the Australian Liberal Students' Federation, who had claimed academics were often teaching a left-wing view of history and politics.

But the Labor-dominated committee has found there is no evidence of widespread bias.

The report, tabled today, says the committee felt like it had been called on to play its part in a university skit show - and many of the submissions had a strong undergraduate tone.

It also says that none of the academics who were "outed" as being left objected to that, and in fact many appeared flattered to be named alongside those who were more famous.

The committee found examples of bias are rare, and are generally because of poor teaching, rather than a broader conspiracy.

The chairman of the inquiry, Gavin Marshall, has told the Senate that the inquiry was a waste of time.

"Clearly graduates of Australian universities over the past 50 years or more have been more or less evenly distributed across both sides of the houses of parliament of Australia," he said.

"If there is a leftist conspiracy in universities, it is not being conspicuously successful in achieving any political ends."

Tags: education, university-and-further-education, government-and-politics, federal-government, liberal-party, australia