And it's not like I'm saying that one should be guaranteed a degree or certificate just because they paid for it, but the system needs to do more to ensure it's student are learning, rather than make the whole thing this competition for meaningless titles.  If you fail, the attitude is basically, "please insert coin to try again."  And that's sort of the whole point, I've always seen education as the great equalizer, as the system that grants social mobility and ensures distribution of wealth.  But the cost of education has become prohibitive to those who cannot easily afford it, thus reserving education for the wealthy who do not need social mobility at all.  It creates the illusion of 'qualification'; an employer would say they hired based on 'merit' and 'qualification', but they actually hired based on wealth, because the wealthier of two individuals had the economic opportunity to get a higher quality education and thus receive better 'qualifications', which ultimately just comes down to prestige anyways, since that's more or less how universities are ranked.

I'm glad we're on the same page, I've talked to people about this before who think I'm too worked up about nothing.  I've heard/seen some good things about Australia, but I'm not so naive as to ignore the fact that you face your own share of problems.  I hope the people of your country can hold back the monstrous tide.  Increasing cost of education and limiting who has access to it is not progress, it is not 'inevitable', it is not financial adjustment, it is not 'keeping up with increased expenditures', it is plutocracy in it's newest and perhaps most insidious form.  It is plutocracy in the form of 'education', something that was always meant to end plutocracy in the first place.

And take your time with posts, no rush.