Trent Hawkins
Amid all the media hype about tax cuts and the surplus following the release of the federal budget on May 9, one thing that didn't attract much attention was the budget's impact on higher education.
In a nutshell, the 2006 budget is a further step in the Coalition government's plan to move away from fair and equitable public education towards a user-pays system.
An extra $559.6 million over five years has been allocated to the education sector, but very little of that is untied funding. The bulk of it is allocated to infrastructure, with a portion going to research in medical areas.
The most significant expenditure is an increase in the (ironically termed) "FEE-HELP" loan, which is available to domestic undergraduate full-fee-paying students (DUFFS) and is adjusted for inflation. The loan has been increased from its current maximum of $50,000 to $80,000 for most degrees; for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science degrees it has been increased to $100,000.
The FEE-HELP loan increase is bad for students at the University of Western Australia, which introduced DUFFS places in 2005 after education minister Brendan Nelson increased the maximum allowable number of DUFFS places to 35%. DUFFS places at UWA are allowable in all courses that cost equal to or less than the loan limit.
Mathew Chuk, the UWA guild president, told Green Left Weekly: "There are a lot of courses whose total cost falls between $50,000 and $80,000. This will create a significant increase in the number of available DUFFS places."
To date there has been a lack of interest in domestic full-fee places. Chuk explained: "At UWA, only 44 full-fee-paying places were filled this year, and 24 of these were in law. Most students are deterred by the idea of taking on more debt."
However, the increase in the loan is clearly intended to encourage more full-fee-paying students, who will over time become an increasing proportion of all students.
This fits in well with the government's overall plans, which open the way for an education system in which a large number of second-class universities offer general undergraduate degrees in science, maths, arts and so on, while a small number of elite universities offer graduate degrees in the professions, such as engineering and law. Chuk pointed out: "Masters degrees are already full-fee and this kind of system means that governments don't have to contribute towards the costs of a professional degree."
Commenting on how to stop the undermining of public education provision, Chuk said: "Like in France last month, students have to get active in the campaign to defend our rights, and act in solidarity with workers and their unions, who are also under attack. Actions such as the June 1 student strike and the June 28 national union action against Work Choices are important.
"Students also need to get involved in their local education action group. Education activism isn't dead just because 'voluntary student unionism' (VSU) is now law; in fact, I think it can only get stronger."
The UWA Education Action Network is organising a forum about Work Choices on May 30, and is encouraging students to strike on June 1. A campaign is also underway to convince the National Union of Students to hold a nationwide day of action in second semester against Work Choices and VSU and their impact on students and workers.
From Green Left Weekly, May 24, 2006.
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