Sharp spike in student numbers

The number of student places at Australian universities has increased by more than a quarter since 2007, figures released by the government show.  Some 545,000 students will be at universities in 2012, an increase of five per cent on the 2011 figure (488,000). The minister for tertiary education, Chris Evans, in a media statement attributed the rise in student numbers to the government’s decision to uncap university places.