ARTWORK: Maddy Brown
The Case Against the Education Officer By Henri Vickers
Lo and behold, another ANUSA election season approaches! And through my crystal ball, I guess it will be another unfulfilling year on the political front, and on the serious issues which face students and young people. Increases to the cost of university degrees will leave graduates finishing in more debt. Universities will likely cut classes and support for students as the government continues to withhold financial support to the tertiary education section. Most students (and I feel deeply for those graduating at the moment) are staring down the barrel of the first recession of their life. However, there are more long-term issues, not resulting from the present COVID-19 crisis. Sadly, despite being solidly within the remit of the Education Officer, it seems succeeding officers have had little success in making a
difference to students’ lives. The Education Officer is one of the few paid roles of the Students’ Association, but it’s probably the hardest. It’s explicitly political, unlike the administrative work of President, VP, Treasurer or General Secretary, or the self-evident role of Social Officer. As such, the role’s tasks are unclear and are largely down to the priorities of whoever is elected to the position. There’s certainly no “given” day-to-day work: whereas other executive members can look back at previous officers and know where they fit into the Association’s functions, the Education Officer must invent their role from scratch nearly every year. The only consistent factor seems to be acting as a quasi-gatekeeper for the funds of the Education Committee, and to be a constant target of abuse from Socialist Alternative.
11.
