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Daily Mail
5 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
The new threat facing Australian children in daycare centres
Experts are concerned that fast-tracked childcare courses could be putting young lives at risk. Traditional four-year university degrees in early education are being whittled down to just 10-month graduate diplomas as institutions cash in on an industry shortage of teachers and market 'worthless' courses to international students. The industry has come under the spotlight in recent days after Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, 26, was charged with over 70 child abuse offences, including the sexual penetration of a child and producing child abuse material. At Southern Cross University in regional NSW, an estimated 6,000 students have enrolled in its 10-month early education graduate diploma in the last two years. University insiders claim that the majority are international students, including older men in their 40s and 50s with corporate backgrounds. 'Childcare services are recognising that students are quite openly telling them that they are only there to get their permanent residency and that's why they are undertaking the course,' a university insider told ABC's 7.30 program. Parents should be concerned that people are coming to Australia to study childcare as a pathway to permanent residency, immigration expert Mark Glazbrook says. 'They're looking after our children and in some cases they're not attending their classes,' he told the program. 'There are a lot of education providers that are set up to deliver courses that are worthless, they're useless. This is a big concern.' University of Sydney early education professor Dr Marianne Fenech said the growing number of international enrolments was a 'cash cow for universities'. 'Employers of high quality services are telling us that the quality of graduates coming out is not what it used to be, it is not as high as it should be,' she said. Dr Fenech was alarmed to hear claims that students were placed with childcare centres that failed to meet minimum national quality standards. Southern Cross University told the program that the graduate diploma is a 'rigorous, high quality program' which includes 60 days of practical experience in early childhood education settings. It is also fully accredited by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency. 'Within 10 months, our Graduate Diploma in Education (Early Childhood) will prepare you to work in early childhood education and care services, long day care centres, and preschools,' a course description on the university website states. 'Our course covers key areas of early childhood education and care, theory, principles and practices that best support children's learning and development.' The regulator has since confirmed that it has launched a review into the university. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Southern Cross University for further comment. Parents of 1,200 children were advised to consider testing them for sexually transmitted diseases after coming into contact with Brown. The 26-year-old worked at a total of 20 childcare centres over an eight-year period between January 2017 and May 2025. Brown was not known to police before his arrest and had a valid Working With Children Check, which has since been cancelled. Police discovered evidence of the alleged horrific offending by the childcare worker while investigating 36-year-old Michael Simon Wilson. Wilson, from Hoppers Crossing, was charged with 45 child sex offences on Wednesday, including bestiality, rape and possession of child abuse material, according to court documents. It is understood Brown and Wilson are known to each other, but Wilson's charges are not linked to any childcare centre and involve different alleged victims.
News.com.au
5 days ago
- News.com.au
Southern Cross University faces shock claims of a crisis in one of their early childhood courses
Southern Cross University is facing claims that its 10-month graduate diploma in early childhood education is in crisis. Staff at the university told the ABC's 7.30 program the course, which could bring in $150m in fees for the SCU with the course cost set at $25,000 per student, was 'very low quality'. The institution was reportedly pushing the course 'hard' with an estimated 6000 students enrolled in the past two years, journalist Adele Ferguson reported. 'We've gone from having classes with 200 students in a unit, which was considered a lot, to over 2000 students,' a whistleblower said. The program alleged that the graduate diploma had received massive enrolments from international students, with the course heavily marketed through immigration agents as a pathway to residency. Immigration agent Mark Glazbrook told 7.30 the situation should 'concern every Australian'. 'We have people coming into Australia on student visas that are studying courses just to use that pathway to get permanent residency in Australia and they're looking after our children, and in some cases, they're not attending their classes.' In one claim, the program aired emails showing the university had asked staff to join 'phone sprints' to help find placements for students after the level of enrolment left it struggling to meet demand. 'One email described the situation as a significant crisis, threatening the viability of the faculty, with 400 placements needed by May, and another 2381 by July,' Ferguson reported. The staff who found the most placements for students reportedly received a gift card. The program went on to allege that SCU was placing students in childcare centres that were not meeting minimum national safety standards. The program said regulatory documents had exposed widespread gaps in basic care, including educators not understanding child protection policies, mandatory reporting duties, or even safe sleep and hygiene practices. Abigail Boyd, NSW Greens MLC said the situation struck her as absurd. 'How on earth is it giving those students any kind of good education,' Ms Boyd said. Southern Cross University has been contacted for comment. SCU declined 7.30's interview request and did not respond to detailed questions about enrolment numbers, staff turnover, student distress, or course quality and placement issues. In a statement it said the graduate diploma was a 'rigorous, high-quality program' attracting strong interest, and was fully accredited by the national higher education regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), and the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
