Some university students, who scored worse than 80% of students in Victoria are being accepted into university, to complete a teaching degree. According to the Herald Sun, one student who was accepted received 17.9 out of 99.95. That is aalmost50% below the minimum score set by the Victorian government
At Victoria University, in Melbourne, low scoring students have an option to complete a Diploma of Education Studies which then allows students to transfer to the Bachelor of Education in their second year despite their high school performance.
And although the university claims the qualification does not guarantee a career as a teacher, the university's website states otherwise.
According to the site, the Diploma qualification will help students 'achieve their dream of becoming a teacher.' It also promises the course will 'prepare students to enter the second year of a teaching degree'.
Earlier this year, the Victorian government was the first state to announce that they were increasing the minimum ATAR for undergraduate teaching courses to 70 next year, up from 65.
The ATAR is a rank which compares university applicants to their peers.
The change followed 2016 testing which revealed 19 out of 52 institutions had more than 10 per cent of students fail a literacy and numeracy test for competency.
Reference:
Hales, Holly "Students Who Scored As Little As 17 Out Of 100 In Year 12 Exams Are Being Admitted To University Courses To Become Teachers", Daily Mail Australia, 12 August 2018