As we said in our first story about Alexander Downer’s daughter winning
a $50,000 Chevening scholarship to study at the London School of
Economics – a scholarship selected and funded by the British government – it’s
all about perceptions.

These two emails from Crikey readers sum up perfectly the concerns
raised when the daughter of the foreign minister who has a third class
honours degree wins a British government scholarship that is
specifically for students who have “obtained, or expected to obtain, at
least an upper second class undergraduate degree.”

Email 1 – from David Robinson:
Yep, I also got first class honours (top of my class) and didn’t get an interview.

Email 2 – from a recent subscriber:
I
read your article and the subsequent feedback, a good deal of which
expressed indignation at the “slur” on Georgina’s academic and
professional reputation. As a proponent of a meritocratic and
transparent system of academic award, I naively hoped that your story
may have been somewhat of a beat-up. Therefore, I did my own quick
search.

As you stated, the main criterion for award of the
Chevening scholarship is demonstrated undergraduate academic
excellence; an upper-grade second class honours degree appears to be
the minimum prerequisite whether one looks at the Australian website or
that of any of the other recipient nations.

A quick search of the Melbourne University website reveals that the
Law Faculty publishes an honours ranking list. In the 2003 Ranked Final
Honours List, Georgina Mary Beatrice Downer is placed at 120th
in a cohort of 139 graduates. In fact, she is placed half way down the
Honours 3 ranking; an entirely respectable result but one that speaks
to a plodding academic career rather than one of excellence.

I
have no gripe with Georgina or her father. However, the perception
might arise that Ms Downer has benefited from personal attributes
extraneous
to the documented criteria for the award of such a lucrative and
eminent scholarship. I believe that questions do need to be asked about
the propriety of this scholarship for the sake of transparency and
equity. I have a son who will embark upon a university degree (perhaps
law) next year. I would be very proud of my child if he attained an
Honours 3 at a prestigious Uni such as Melbourne, but it would be
totally unrealistic for him to apply for the Chevening scholarship with
such an academic transcript (in fact, I would be very surprised if he
even got an interview with Minter Ellison – but that’s another issue).
Conversely, if my child received an Honours 1 and was overlooked by the
Chevening committee for a candidate with a very mediocre academic
history, I would be justifiably outraged. This would not be sour grapes.