The federal government’s university reforms aim to encourage students to enrol in high-priority courses such as nursing, maths and engineering by reducing the amount students pay to study them through the HECS-HELP loan scheme. At the same time, course fees for oversupplied courses like humanities, commerce and law will be lifted to discourage study in these areas.
The fee reforms have been slammed by the sector as a “shortsighted stunt” that could put the economy at risk:
President of the Australia Academy of the Humanities Professor Joy Damousi said the plan will backfire.
