Reforms to incentivise STEM have failed, say sector leaders

Higher education reforms in Australia introduced by the former Morrison government – which doubled the price of some humanities degrees and lowered fees on some other courses – have not benefited students and should be scrapped, peak university bodies say, writes Caitlin Cassidy for The Guardian Australia.

The Job-ready Graduates Package was implemented by the former Coalition government in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic to incentivise students to study certain degrees, including science and engineering. It reduced the overall government contribution to degrees from 58% to 52% and increased fees for some courses, including humanities, to fund fee cuts in other courses and 39,000 extra university places.

Universities Australia, the peak body for the sector, urged senators to pass the bill for “funding certainty” but has since reversed its stance. The body’s chief executive, Catriona Jackson, said inequity in higher education needed “desperately to be addressed”. She said price signals “simply do not work” as a way to drive student choices.
Full report on The Guardian Australia site