‘Dumbing down degrees’: University of Sydney criticised over decision to abandon HSC prerequisites

Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson has criticised the University of Sydney over its decision to get rid of advanced mathematics as a prerequisite for dozens of its degrees. “Arguably this is dumbing down degrees,” she told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “It is of a concern because over 20 years we’ve seen students under our international standards go backward by about 10 per cent in their mathematics achievements. “So we need to work a lot harder to lift our standards in maths, not dumb them down. “The fact that there is no longer an advanced mathematics prerequisite for science and engineering at Sydney Uni has been broadly criticised and with good reason.”