Today, Steven Joyce as Tertiary Education Minister announced changes to the student loan and allowances scheme. When I say announced, I mean that he held a media conference at which he told the assembled reporters about the changes. He did not produce any paper, apparently could not offer much in the way of figures to back up his announcement and gave some vague answers. He has finally late this evening released his notes which shed only a little light on proceedings.
This is irresponsible and cynical. Pre-budget announcements are nothing new, I know that, but if you are going to do do them, how about actually giving details about what you are going to do? Student support is one of those areas where the details matter to individual students and their families. Many students live financially fragile lives, and little changes mean a lot. For families trying to support their children and plan their future, announcements like this have significance. Judging by the questions I am getting on email and on Twitter people are confused, and it is no wonder.
The reason it is cynical is that this is about getting the bad news away before the Budget so that on the day Mr Joyce can show how he is putting some more money into research and certain courses. The robbing Peter part of the equation out of the way, it will be time to pay Paul on Budget Day.
As to the substance of the announcement, they are giving all graduates with loans a pay cut by increasing the repayment rate and they are cutting access to allowances, including limiting eligibility to four years. This is significant. This means no allowances for people in later years of studying medicine, engineering, architecture, veterinary science or for post graduate study or double degrees. In short the very things the government says it wants.
There are still loads of questions unanswered about the detail of the announcement (such as what happens to those in the middle of longer degrees, do four years of allowances at any time in the past make you ineligible from next year?) but the overall message is clear; this government simply sees tertiary education more as a cost to be cut than an investment in our collective future.
This is funny, Med students, conjoint Law Students, Vets, conjoint Science students, any post-graduate, PHD, and post-PHD students… Education is NOT important, I think it’s time for that Oz move…
Grant, there already exists a limit of 5 years, I know becuase I hit it and had to start to loan the living costs on my PgDip, which is a smaller amount than the allowance (get that fixed). There are extensions for courses such as Med and others that are longer than the standard, and many other conjoints where students can put an application for extension. It is not clear whether these extensions will remain, or if the lot is limited to 4 years. Could you ask these questions in the House so that this is clear – if the reduction is from 5 to 4 years and the extensions remain, then the impact is not as great as the beat up from youself and Greens. Cheers.
I should add this: Govt. spending = Private sector income = Private sector growth. So yeah, pulling $250 million of “savings” from allowances, strips that income from the private sector which will subsequently undermine growth in the economy… Before one even needs to deal with the other issues.
The limit might be 200 weeks rather than 5 years from memory – about the same anyhow.
The point is: who cares? Government expenditure drives private sector growth… If we politically want to undermine our best and brightest from pursuing higher education, then this is the policy for it… Secondly, govt has no need to impose that debt in the first place, it CHOOSES to… To “fund” education, ever ask yourself how non-interest bearing debt funds anything? Let alone the tertiary education system?
You didn’t seem to mention all the waste money-like $100,000 for a thesis on bogans! All the wasted courses and all the people doing university degrees who would be better off doing polytech courses or even apprenticships.
Just being at a university doesn’t guarantee an education-about time we saw a bit of realism in this sector.
They love to spend on roads, they begrudge investing in people, soon those shown no respect will travel offshore to do their post graduate study.
This will result in our universities being seen as under graduate universities and this will diminish the calibre and number of foreign students they attract.
A strategic policy fail of epic proportions.