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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Comment
Jeff Sparrow

How did Australia’s university system get so broken? Pretty much the same way as everything else

A historic building behind trees at the University of Melbourne
Australian higher education has ‘evolved into a huge industry, raking in billions’ and pursuing profits using the same strategies as other corporations, writes Jeff Sparrow. Photograph: Nina Dermawan/Moment Editorial/Getty Images

On Monday, unionised workers at the University of Melbourne (where I teach) will go on strike. In the faculty of arts, the Melbourne law school, student services and library services we’ll stay out for a week – longer than any previous dispute at an Australian university.

Readers of a certain age might marvel at the recent wave of industrial action in higher education, perhaps remembering their own campus days with fond nostalgia.

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