Tertiary Education
A Long Time Sacrifice
Jelena Kovacevic insists that her laughter is always proportionate to the joke.
I
am very proud to be an Australian university student in 2022. Writing during Harmony Week, I’ve found myself reflecting on my heritage and am reminded of how fortunate I am to live and study in Australia. No generation before my parents pursued a level of education above high school if that. My maternal grandfather did not even complete secondary school due to his remoteness, which can be attributed to post-WW2 and the migration away from frequently shelled cities. My paternal grandfather was discouraged from studying by his own father, who expected him to be a trader - this can be put in stark contrast to my experience where I was not only welcome to study but also expected to. I was warmly praised for this decision by my family, including those relatives who were deprived of the opportunity to attend university. Neither of my grandmothers were allowed to study - both of whom were from conservative European countries. Additionally, unstable economic conditions- such as hyperinflation in Yugoslavia in the early 90s - and unstable
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political environments meant that relatives from both sides of my family were expected to enter the workforce as soon as they were able to. The cost of pursuing a university education was considered too great. The expansion of education is reflected in most universities’ enrolment over centuries and even decades. Not long ago, going to university was reserved for upper-class men. Additionally, the gender gap in UWA enrolment has narrowed over the years- from a 37% female enrolment in 1913 to nearly 50% by 2016. My father completed his postgraduate degree just last year, after years of postponing his studies due to full-time work. I saw the immense pride on his face when he graduated at last! Immigration was disruptive for both sides of my family. Perhaps after fourteen years in Australia, he finally felt capable of severing every imaginary constraint holding him back previously. The trend is evident across the extended family: all of my father’s siblings studied once they dispersed across the world
