While the government finally ruled out full fee deregulation in its 2016 budget, it is still contemplating uncapping fees for some degree courses. Here’s what else is being discussed.
Young people are pressured into university and many end up in unsuitable courses. We need to recognise these realities and be clear about the purpose of higher education so it doesn’t lose its value.
If higher education is made “free” for all, the whole society ends up paying more. That’s deeply unjust in already unequal societies, such as those in Africa.
It shouldn’t be up to universities or the government alone to fund students who qualify for tertiary education but can’t afford it. A perpetual bond system could be the answer.
A crisis of sustainability is building up as universities continue to drift towards a more privatised system. It’s time we started looking at alternative options.
Universities are cutting and streamlining their courses in an attempt to make graduates more employable. But lots of graduates are still struggling to find work, so why isn’t it working?
The decline in government investment in higher education and the ever-increasing reliance on fees has made universities more like private for-profit corporations.
A lack of government guidance on how student tuition fees should be used by universities is resulting in money for teaching being spent on research instead.
Don’t let the name fool you: the #feesmustfall protests at South Africa’s universities are about far more than a single issue. A student who has been deeply involved in the protests explains.
The next step in South African students’ fight against high university fees could be taken beyond campuses. The final battle will be fought at the country’s National Treasury and Reserve Bank.
South Africa’s higher education sector is dramatically underfunded. Polite conversations between vice-chancellors and the government have failed. It’s time the voices of student activists was heard.
“What’s in a name?” was essentially the Australian government’s response when concerns were first expressed about dropping “Science” from the ministerial portfolio titles back in 2013. That same response…
At one level, it is heartening that there is so much attention placed on regional universities in all the heat of debate surrounding the deregulation of higher education. We have ministerial assurances…
Let’s face it, for an academic it had been a long time since there was too much to get passionate about in Federal politics. The latter Howard years were more of the same and the joy of the Rudd “education…