The Administrative Decisions Tribunal, has ruled that our Higher School Certificate (HSC) is not racist. The decision follows a complaint lodged by the mother of a year 12 student (18) that the rules discriminated against students from ethnic backgrounds, especially those from Asia.The boy came to Australia when he was eight and his mum claimed rules for the study of languages for the HSC discriminated against him because of his Chinese background.
The Sydney Morning Herald describes how HSC language courses can be offered at different levels, called "beginners", "continuers" and "background speakers". But in five languages - all Asian - background speakers are separated from students who have learnt the language as a second language for some years.
The Board of Studies however, said the ruling would apply to an Anglo-Australian student who had grown up in China as an expatriate. Therefore the decision was not made on race, but on exposure to the language.
