University of Melbourne to introduce fees
By Alison Dellit
The University of Melbourne Council announced on March 13 that, despite student protest, it would introduce up-front fees for selected courses in 1998. Melbourne is the first university to adopt undergraduate fees since their deregulation last year.
The initial council meeting to vote on the proposal was disrupted by 50 students. Vice-chancellor Alan Gilbert then called for a postal vote, giving council members less than a week to return their ballots.
Jo Williams, education officer and member of Resistance, said, "The implications of this decision are enormous. It is totally undemocratic for council to decide without discussing it with students, staff and the wider community. A postal ballot meant that council members decided without any information or debate.
"Up-front fees will have a devastating effect. The council will give priority treatment to fee-paying students who attract revenue. There is no guarantee that students who don't pay fees will have a place all the way through their degree."
Williams said that the fees "are a direct result of the government policy of moving towards a privately funded university system. More and more universities will take this option. It is imperative that the national day of action on March 26 is a major show of student anger."
The University of Melbourne Education Action Group has organised a counter-ballot of students over the next few weeks, backed by a mass leafleting and postering campaign designed to educate students about the impact of fees.