Crisis point for universities
By Anthony Thirlwall
and John Addison
ADELAIDE — In early June, 300 tertiary students marched on state Parliament House in protest against attacks on tertiary education.
The march was sparked by the cutting of journal subscriptions at Adelaide University's Barr Smith Library, but this was just symbolic of a range of other measures undermining students' abilities.
Lack of funding has hit almost all aspects of university life. It can be seen in overcrowded tutorials or pondered by students during their frequent 20-minute waits in under-serviced libraries.
Tertiary education has been under attack by the federal Labor government over the last 10 years. During this period of commitment to the "clever country", funding per student has decreased.
The ALP also began the shift towards a user-pays tertiary education system when it introduced full fees for overseas students and then the $250 Higher Education Administration Charge in the mid-'80s. These attacks brought about a strong response from students in the form of a free education movement.
Unfortunately, with the formation and continued domination of the National Union of Students (NUS) by ALP students, the free education campaign was derailed.
Since then, the government has been able to introduce the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS), to continue funding cuts and erode Austudy grants, while minimising student protest. Access to and the quality of education are eroding.
It is likely that the next major attack will occur in the August federal budget. Dan Murphy, Flinders University activist, told the demonstration of the changes that are being considered by the government following recommendations from the Department of Employment, Education and Training. these are:
- increasing the annual HECS debt;
- bigger HECS increases for more expensive courses;
- even bigger HECS for taking too long to finish a degree;
- faster repayment of HECS schemes;
- up-front fees for second degrees.
This will mean higher costs and less access. We cannot allow this to happen. We need to think about the role of NUS in the last few years and the need to rebuild the education movement. Now is the time to demand more education funds, more places and more Austudy for more students.