Trent Hawkins
Since 1996, the Howard government has presided over the cutting of 20,000 government-funded places for students at universities as a result of funding not being properly indexed to inflation, the reduction of untied government funding by 18.6%, and the introduction of domestic undergraduate fully funded places. Average staff-student ratios have increased from 15.6 in 1996 to 20.7 in 2004.
The contribution of student fees and charges (other than HECS) to higher education funding increased from $1.2 billion in 1997 to $2.5 billion in 2002. In 2004, most universities, desperate for more funding, introduced the newly allowed 25% HECS increase and extended full-fee places. As a result, HECS fees have increased by 168% on 1996 levels and more than 60 university degrees are being offered at fees of $100,000 or more. To do these courses, many students are taking out government loans with higher interest rates than HECS repayments.
Given that the accumulated HECS debt has surpassed $10 billion, and that recent increases in HECS only covered pre-existing funding gaps, it is clear that providing equitable higher education is not part of the Howard government's agenda..
Before leaving the education portfolio in January, Brendan Nelson outlined a series of further proposals for university "reform". These included the development of a tiered system whereby students would fight for a general undergraduate degree and then, if they can afford it, move onto a specialised graduate degree that would lead to employment in the professions.
Nelson also flagged the idea of dramatically increasing the size of the FEE-HELP loan, opening the way for degrees costing $200,000 or more.
The key method the Howard government has adopted in pushing its "reform" agenda is to tie funding to universities to their implementation of such measures as the Higher Education Workplace Reforms Requirements. For universities to comply with the HEWRR, all new staff must be "offered" individual contracts (AWAs) and government funds must not be used to "pay union staff salaries, or fund union facilities and activities".
Last December, the University of Ballarat began to offer AWAs to existing staff that eroded current conditions, including reducing redundancy entitlements and watering down avenies for appeals. Since then, the National Tertiary Education Union has launched legal action against the enforced AWAs, claiming they are misleading.
If universities do not offer AWAs to all existing staff by August 2006 they stand to lose 7.5% in funding.
Given that HECS fees for some courses are now more than $8000 per year, it is not surprising that enrolments from
Australian students have dropped significantly. Driving this has been the large drop in mature-age students, who are put off by the idea of accruing huge debts that may not be paid off in their lifetimes.
The March 11 West Australian reported that Edith Cowan University is facing a $20 million budget deficit. The university failed to meet enrolment targets, even with drastically reduced entrance scores, and consequently is set to lose government funded student places that could lead to 200 job losses.
This is a situation facing many of the less prestigious universities, as students are seeking to maximise the money-making potential of their degree to repay their debts by enrolling in the more prestigious universities.
On the other hand, universities' are distributing more funding to departments that benefit business corporations such as engineering, while departments such as arts are left to fend for themselves.
A crucial measure to faciltate implementation of future attack on the higher education system is the government's Voluntary Student Unionism (VSU) legislation, which comes into effect in July. It prohibits universities from charging any fees not directly related to academic courses of study. Universities will face crippling fines of $100 per student if they collect levies or charges that in any way finance student unions, associations, clubs or services.
The legislation is a direct attack on the democratic rights of students and is aimed at destroying or "conservatising" student organisations by removing their funding base, leading them to axe staff and dump "expensive" political organising.
Already, Swinburne University Student Union was reported by the March 10 Melbourne Age to be "on is on the brink of collapse" after the Swinburne University of Technology cancelled $1.6 million in promised funding because the student union had so reduced the number of its staff that the university's vice-chancellor, Ian Young, said the administration "believe the delivery of essential services to students is impeded".
"From a high of 35 last year, it is understood union staff numbers have fallen to five. The union says it employs about 15", the Age reported.
It is vitally necessary for students to stand together and fight VSU to ensure they retain organisations capable of defeating a government hell bent on creating an education system for the rich.
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, April 12, 2006.
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