‘It just got too hard’: how Year 12 subject cuts are affecting students’ access to uni

This month the ABC reported student enrolments at a central Queensland public high school had fallen by 12.5% over a 15-month period. The school, which is also facing teacher shortages, has had to cut senior subjects as a result, meaning even more students are leaving to attend private schools in search of more opportunities. Our ongoing study has found this issue is widespread in remote, rural and disadvantaged communities. And the problem is only getting worse. These systemic challenges create real barriers for public school students wanting to pursue higher education. So what’s behind the problem? And is there a fix? What we found We have been investigating the post-school aspirations of young Australians since 2012. The research has involved more than 10,000 students in Years 3-12, as well as parents, carers, teachers and others from their communities across New South Wales. Participants completed surveys and took part in interviews and focus groups. The most recent round of data collection in 2024-2025 looked at how current economic, political, and social conditions are influencing what young people do after leaving school. We have found young people do not lack aspiration to attend university. Rather, many are trying to imagine a future within schooling environments and communities where opportunities have become increasingly constrained. Limited options When some public schools are unable to attract teachers, offer advanced subjects, or provide stable learning environments, students who don’t have the means to change schools can face cumulative disadvantages. For these students, pathways to university technically remain available. However, they become increasingly difficult to access. As one parent, Catherine, noted about the high school in her remote community: Not many go through to Year 12 […] To do any of the bigger, better stuff you’ve got to have a lot of willpower because you’ve got to be able to sit by yourself […] and do your own work. In turn, aspirations can become constrained by these everyday realities. For Year 12 student Lora, who lives in the same remote community, university shifted from something she imagined for her future to something that increasingly felt out of reach as she moved through school: I used to say I’d want to go to uni, when I was younger. But, as I got older […] everything changed, and it just got too hard. A vicious cycle These limited opportunities at public schools mean more well-off families are choosing to move to private schools. Our research, as well as others’, found as a result, public schools - particularly those in rural, remote and disadvantaged communities - are left educating higher proportions of students experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage and those with a disability. Between 2006 and 2025, the proportion of Australian students attending private schools increased from 13% to 17%, while the proportion attending public schools decreased from 67% to 63%. We also found some public schools are now stuck in a vicious cycle. Declining enrolments are occurring alongside issues with attracting and retaining teachers. This is reducing schools’ capacity to offer certain subjects to students, prompting even more families to leave. As one teacher, Breanna, noted in 2025: We lose a lot of numbers coming up to secondary. I’m not sure whether that’s due to the perception of our staffing issues, which have been very public and very dire up here. Like […] parents thinking, ‘I don’t want that for my kids,’ so they’ll send them elsewhere. We then can’t offer courses like English Advanced, English Extension, because we just don’t have the numbers or the teachers. What can impacted students do? In our research, we found some students travelled to other schools for a specific subject or enrolled in distance education. Some Year 12 students are also using online platforms that match them with teachers for specialist subjects not offered at their own schools. University early entry schemes and enabling programs can also help aid access to higher education. Ultimately, however, these are all individual solutions to a systemic problem. What else can be done? While the lack of resources and understaffing in schools in disadvantaged, rural and remote communities are chief among the problems the government must address, the growing segregation in our school system requires bold action. Last year, the commonwealth, states and territories signed a new agreement designed to bring all public schools to 100% of their government funding needs by 2034 to help meet students’ educational needs. However, governments must also strengthen needs-based funding for disadvantaged schools and provide them with additional staffing and curriculum supports. Governments could also offer incentives to encourage schools to enrol students from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. If Australia is serious about improving higher education equity, our research points to where to begin. This means addressing the conditions that shape educational opportunity in the first place: school segregation, unequal school funding, teacher shortages, and restricted access to academic subjects and pathways. Otherwise, our most disadvantaged students are only going to continue to be left behind.