Can I thank Mike Grimshaw for saying what he said? 

Mike is at the University of Canterbury, a university by the way with a very good reputation, according to the vast swathes of late teens we currently deal with in our lives. There is great demand among students from all over the country 

Anyway, Mike is an associate professor and wants university to return to elitism. 

He didn’t put it that bluntly, but he did use the word 'elite' and the word 'elite' is stoked with gun powder these days. It's full of charge in this egalitarian society. 

I thank him because it isn't easy to speak your mind in this country. Just ask Mike King. 

Grimshaw sees too many of what he calls "functionally illiterate" kids in classes. And classes is his other problem because no one actually goes to classes. 

Covid taught us to isolate, not just from a virus, but from life. 

He argues that because universities will fall over backwards to keep you enrolled, turning up is no longer a deal breaker. 

His argument isn't actually new. The idea that kids pop out of high school completely unprepared for university has been an issue for years. 

But once again, because we have decided university is a “thing” and you should go, you go whether you want to or are ready to go or not. 

It's elitist nonsense of course that university is a path to success. It can be, but only if you want it to be and only if you are on a path that requires it. 

Those of us that never went and never wanted to go have, many a time, made a go of life anyway. 

So Mike wants a return to a form of elitism. In other words, bums on seats has led to a lot of people getting bits of paper called qualifications that lead not a lot of places and often leave you with a debt you resent. 

He argues for a higher quality of learning. It should be a place you need to achieve to get to, not just turn up. 

It's refreshing to hear it. Not just because he is right but because a lot of people think the same thing, but are just too afraid to say so, far less actually do something about it. 

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