The cost of a humanities or communications degree is set to more than double under a new Federal Government plan to drive students into the education, healthcare, and science sectors.
The proposal has been slammed by critics, who believe the changes will block anyone without serious cash from pursuing a humanities degree.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports government funding for tertiary education will soon be overhauled, prioritising degrees in fields like nursing, psychology, English, languages, maths and agriculture.
Students in those courses will soon be expected to cough up between $3,700 and $7,700 a year. That’s a reduction of between 46% to 62% on current levels.
The flip side: a degree in the humanities may soon cost students as much as a law degree, with punters expected to fork out $14,500 a year. That tallies up to just north of $45,000 for a three-year degree.
Current students will be exempt from the fee hikes, but fee reductions will be passed on from next year.
It’s all about the predicted jobs of the future, according to Education Minister Dan Tehan, who is expected to outline the changes at the National Press Club today.
“A cheaper degree in an area where there’s a job is a win-win for students,” says a draft version of his speech.
Not everyone is on Tehan’s wavelength. News of the proposal has sparked a backlash from educators and students, who see the proposal as harmful to students without significant financial privilege.
“This is unacceptable,” the National Union of Students said in a statement.
“While the Education Minister is lowering fees for some courses, it’s at the expense of hundreds of thousands of students studying degrees aren’t seen as ‘job-ready’.
“No student should be left behind or stuck in a mountain of debt… Studying should never be a debt sentence.”
The Union isn’t alone in that position.
Lets be clear: this is about creating a two tier system, where critical knowledge is available to those with the appropriate property qualification, and children of the working class are forced into underpaid professions by economic necessity. As a #firstinfamily, im gutted.
— Jon Piccini (@JonPiccini) June 18, 2020
Whether based on flawed assumptions about ‘jobs of the future’, essential services, course delivery costs, or pure ideology, I cannot work out the reasoning behind this clustering, no matter how long I stare at it. pic.twitter.com/FValXuMqA0
— Jean Burgess (@jeanburgess) June 18, 2020
A 113% fee hike? The same day huge youth unemployment figures are announced? As hundreds of our staff are being sacked? This is absolutely disgusting, being a student should never be a debt sentence #auspol #highereducation pic.twitter.com/b6GNRiRN4x
— Bailey Riley (@NUS_President) June 18, 2020
Govt just decided that only rich folks get to study history, law & philosophy, if you’re poor you need to go do agriculture or engineering
— Hiero Badge (@hierobadge) June 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/AJ_Whittaker/status/1273745211563229184
The ABC reports interest in tertiary education has spiked for 2021, given the fact that many gap year plans were shot to pieces by coronavirus lockdowns.
Add in the chaos Year 12 students have experienced due to study-from-home arrangements, and it’s looking like a pretty rough time for young guns chasing a degree.
Well, a degree that isn’t blessed by the government, that is.