The rise and fall of binary systems in two countries and the consequence for universities

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 1988, the Australian Government, and in 1991, the United Kingdom Government, announced that their binary systems of higher education had become obstacles to progress and would be abolished. There were different sectors of higher education before 1965, but more formal binary systems were developed between 1965 and 1971 in the United Kingdom, and between 1965 and 1973 in Australia. There were interesting and significant differences between the origins and nature of the two systems, and in the reasons for abolishing them. The mismatch between the financial powers of the Australian Government and the legislative powers of the State governments which was an important factor in the Australian Government's decision to create a unified national system, does not exist in the United Kingdom. The Australian system is more centralised than the United Kingdom system is planned to be, but both governments have shown a marked preference for the public sector model rather than the autonomous sector model as the basis for their post-binary systems.