Tony Abbott 'committed to dumbing down' education, says Simon Marginson TONY Abbott's refusal to support the Gonski school reforms while leaving in place the $2.3 billion in cuts to universities designed to fund them will take the Coalition to the September election committed to dumbing down Australia, says a globally renowned professor of higher education. "The Coalition's decision will hit schools and higher education at once," said Simon Marginson from the University of Melbourne. If we want to meet the challenge of the Asian Century the last thing we should do is undermine the local knowledge economy.